MassDEP Fines F/V Capt Carl, LLC for Discharge of Oiled Bilge Water to New Bedford Harbor
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $10,465 penalty to Trawler Capt. Carl, LLC of New Bern, North Carolina, for discharging oiled bilge water to the surface water of New Bedford Harbor near 4 Washington Street in Fairhaven. MassDEP’s surface water discharge regulations prohibit unpermitted discharges which are not incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. On May 5, 2022, MassDEP responded to the report of an oil spill in New Bedford Harbor off Fairhaven. Because a responsible party was not forthcoming, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a publicly funded cleanup. Later investigation of Trawler Capt. Carl’s commercial fishing vessel in the immediate vicinity of the spill revealed a pronounced “bathtub ring” of oil within the vessel bilge, indicating that the oiled bilge water had recently been pumped out. >click to read< 13:49
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