St. Marys River now open to commercial vessels following spill

Commercial traffic entering through the St. Marys river is now able to pass through the Soo Locks, but recreational traffic is advised to steer away from the north side of Sugar Island as oil from a 5,300-gallon (20,063-liter) spill today is expected to accumulate.

“Garden River is where a lot of oil is ending up,” said U.S. Coast Guard Command Center Chief Lt. Daniel Rynard.

“This morning, we got a report from Algoma Steel on the Canadian side in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.,” said Rynard. “They had an equipment failure, which led to the discharge of oil into the St. Marys river.”

As a precaution, U.S. and Canadian coast guards worked in union to secure traffic along the St. Marys river for safety purposes. The closure prohibited commercial traffic from spreading the oil around the river and into the great lakes.

“We had folk from different agencies go out and make the assessment as to whether it was safe for commercial traffic,” said Rynard. “There is still oil in the water.”

Assessments were conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA helped make projections through oil modeling, letting the coast guard know where the oil was heading.

Rynard could not speak to the oil response on the Canadian side.

“This is a little bit of a unique case,” said Rynard of the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard’s cooperative response to a situation stemming from a Canadian spill.

“Our request is that recreational traffic stay clear of the north side of Sugar Island,” said Rynard. “That is where the oil is collecting. That is based on several different environmental factors.”

Rynard pointed out that oil could damage kayaks, canoes, fishing vessels and related equipment. 

The Sugar Island Ferry has remained open throughout the ordeal.

“It never ceased operations,” said Rynard.

Fortunately, there is no commercial traffic up that way.

NEWS RELEASE

U.S. Coast Guard responds to oil spill on the St. Marys River

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SAULT SAINTE MARIE, Mich. – The Coast Guard is responding to an oil spill that originated from Algoma Steel in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, June 9, 2022.

The Coast Guard received notification at 10:30 a.m. EST of a 5,300-gallon gear oil spill into the St. Marys River. Initial Coast Guard estimates show a sheen that covers an area from the steel mill all the way to the north side of Sugar Island.

No injuries or deaths have been reported by Algoma Steel. The Coast Guard is requesting all traffic to stay clear of the impacted area. The Coast Guard has established an incident command team to manage the U.S. response efforts.

Captain Anthony Jones, Commander, Sector Sault Sainte Marie said, “We’re working in lock-step with our Canadian, American, and tribal partners to ensure the sanctity of our river.”

Coast Guard pollution responders are monitoring the situation and will coordinate the containment with environmental clean-up organizations.

Anyone with information or reports of oil sheens or oiled wildlife can contact the Coast Guard Sectore Sault Sainte Marie at (906) 635-3233.