Petaluma River oil leak estimated at up to 600 gallons

<p>Oil leaked Monday from an old tugboat under going salvage and spread across a two-mile stretch of the Petaluma River, from the downtown Turning Basin to Highway 101.</p><p>An estimated 200 to 600 gallons of gear lubricating engine oil leaked into the river, said state Fish and Game Warden Josh Nicholas.</p><p>Containment booms were set up along various stretches of the waterway, which winds its way past wetlands on its way to the San Pablo Bay.</p><p>“This is a major spill for Petaluma,” said Petaluma Fire Battalion Chief Mike Ahlin. “This entire river area to the citizens of Petaluma is incredibly valuable.”</p><p>He said three areas of major environmental concern had been identified: Adobe Creek, Ellis Creek and the area surrounding the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Plant. Booms were deployed in each area.</p><p>“As of now we don't believe we're losing any more (oil) into the river,” Ahlin said late Monday afternoon.</p><p>It was unknown how long the cleanup operation would take. A spill cleanup contractor was on the way but had not arrived by late Monday afternoon.</p><p>“How the gear oil left the tugboat and got in the water, that's still being investigated,” Nicholas said.</p><p>The leak was first reported at 8:18 a.m. Monday.</p><p>“I came out at about 8:30 or 9 a.m. and there was that red and blue sheen across all of the water, from one bank to the other,” said Jason Lizotte, 40, of Petaluma whose back door on First Street opens onto the river.</p><p>By early afternoon, Lizotte said, there were blacker pools of oil near the bank edges, “like crankcase oil.”</p><p>Fish and Game workers were on the scene by mid-morning to investigate and to assist in the containment efforts.</p><p>The 90-ton tugboat is in a small inlet on private land along Hopper Street, near Highway 101, that Ahlin said was formerly owned by a concrete company, Pomeroy Corp.</p><p>Salvage operations had been proceeding on the tug for about a week, Nicholas said. </p><p>About half of the vessel had been removed by the salvage company, Nicholas said, and the stern portion, about 60 feet long, was hauled halfway up the bank. </p><p>He said the salvage work was being done by the tugboat's owner, Alameda-based ATOP TRC Inc. </p><p>Whether charges will be filed will depend on the results of the investigation, which will get fully under way today, Nicholas said.</p><p>At Graffiti, a Second Street restaurant on a downtown bend of the river across from the Golden Eagle Shopping Center, general manager Jaime Marcalo said that while the spill didn't look particularly serious, “it affected our business tremendously.”</p><p>He said boat traffic on the river had disappeared and the spill produced an unpleasant odor that drove away customers.</p><p>“It's pretty bad, kind of greasy,” Marcalo said.</p><p>The oil was not believed to have spread beyond the Highway 101 and none had been spotted in the Petaluma Marina, Ahlin said.</p><p>A biologist on the scene checked throughout the day for wildlife that may have been affected but had not turned up any, Nicholas said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 521-5212 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com</p>