EPA responded on July 13, 2023,
with contractors to secure, recover, and remove discharged oil products from
four vessels that sank in the Arkansas River near Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Following demobilization, EPA has continued to contain further discharges from
the sunken vessels with hard boom and conduct site walks to monitor the
incident. On February 2, 2024, after a report that a fifth vessel, the BJ103,
sank on January 26, 2024, EPA mobilized with contractors to recover discharged
oil products from BJ103 and conduct maintenance for the four previously sunken
vessels. EPA continues to monitor the Site and communicate and coordinate with
the USCG, ADEE, SCDEM, and Crawford County Department of Emergency Management
(CCDEM).
On July 13 at 12:51 PM, the EPA was notified by the
National Response Center (NRC) of an incident involving four submerged vessels
at mile marker 301 (35.436388, -94.371666) in the Arkansas River near Fort
Smith, Arkansas. The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi
River. As indicated in the NRC Report, the vessels involved in the incident are
owned by 4H Construction and were previously used as towing vessels. According
to a representative from 4H Construction, the vessels have been out of service
for approximately 3 years. The US Coast Guard (USCG) was on-scene and informed the EPA that the
vessels were discharging an unknown mixture of oil into the Arkansas River,
however, the spilled quantity was unknown at the time. The owner of the vessels
indicated they were currently in bankruptcy dissolution proceedings and
informed EPA that they were unable to perform a cleanup. Local authorities
(Sebastian County Department of Emergency Management (SCDEM) and Crawford
County DEM (CCDEM)) responded and contained the spill with containment booms
but did not have the resources to recover the discharge from the Arkansas River
or from the submerged vessels. Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE)
informed EPA that they also didn’t have the resources to recover oil from the
Arkansas River or from the submerged vessels.
The EPA Phone Duty Officer activated Response Duty Officer
Adam Adams and START contractors to respond to the incident. The spill location
is in the EPA Area of Responsibility; therefore, EPA is the lead agency.
On the afternoon of July 14, 2023, EPA was notified that
three of the four vessels belonged to different entities. All three Responsible
Parties have been notified and sent Notices of Federal Interest (NOFIs).
