Case study: Spill of JP5 fuel at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, into a basin mangrove forest

Abstract

The U.S. Roosevelt Roads Naval Station (RRNS) lies near the municipality of Ceiba on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1999, RRNS personnel reported a spill of JP5 fuel oil, which was officially determined to be 112,000 gallons. The oil spilled from a day-tank into a 50-acre basin mangrove forest and then into the northern Ensenada Harbor. Initial spill response activities by the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees), including construction and placement of both underflow and culvert dams, were carried out in the face of an approaching hurricane. This damming effort resulted in both positive and negative consequences for the survival of the mangrove forest. In addition to the cleanup activities, the federal trusteesincluding the U.S. Navy (USN), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) - initiated a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). The primary objectives of the damage assessment were to identify potential natural resources at risk, determine the horizontal extent of contamination within the basin mangrove, and document exposure and/or injuries to natural resources resulting from the spill. This paper examines the overall effectiveness of the spill response operations, discusses the difficulties in conducting cleanup activities in a basin mangrove environment, and describes coordination efforts between cleanup activities and natural resource response activities.