A barge transport company has been ordered by the Department of Justice to pay for an oil spill on the Mississippi near New Orleans.
According to the DOJ, the spill happened in July of 2008 when an American Commercial was pushing barges filled with oil upriver.
The DOJ report says the American Commercial tug Mel Oliver veered directly in front of the MV Tintomara, an ocean-going tanker ship sailing downriver. The ship collided with the barges and spilled 282,828 gallons of oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans.
The oil spill spread more than 100 miles downriver and covered over 5,000 acres of shoreline habitat.
The United States and Louisiana concurrently filed a civil complaint, which seeks compensation for damages done to the shoreline habitat.
The oil spill caused significant damage to aquatic habitats within the Mississippi River and along its shoreline, as well as to birds and other wildlife.
The oil spill also forced the river to close to shipping traffic from River Mile Marker 98 (just upriver from New Orleans) to the Southwest Pass Sea Buoy, from July 23, 2008 until July 29, 2008 according to the DOJ report.
American Commercial, the Coast Guard, and the State were involved in extensive response and cleanup efforts, and American Commercial has cooperated says DOJ.
American Commercial has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat near New Orleans, and pay over $2 million in damages, in addition to $1.32 million previously paid for damage assessment and restoration planning costs related to the spill.