Fresh Water, Foul Sewage
Jones Falls oil spill traced to BGE substation
Company “will make any needed repairs and remediation under the Maryland Department of the Environment’s oversight”
Above: Following the Jones Falls oil leak, a petroleum sheen was noticeable in the Inner Harbor near Pier Six. (Blue Water Baltimore)
State officials have traced the oil spill that fouled the Jones Falls Friday and through the weekend to a BGE substation.
“It was actually an underground high-voltage transmission line tunnel coming from a BGE substation,” said Jay Apperson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.
An oily sheen spotted at the Inner Harbor on Friday alerted officials to the leakage. The oil was found to be entering the Jones Falls from a stormwater outfall in the 2100 block of Falls Road north of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.
Last night, the source was discovered to be a sump pump at the substation, which Apperson said is located a few hundred yards east of the outfall on the other side of the CSX railroad tracks at a higher elevation.
“We expect that BGE will take action and make any needed repairs and remediation under MDE’s oversight,” Apperson said.