Multiple agencies are investigating the source of an oil spill that appeared early Monday in the New River near downtown Fort Lauderdale, law enforcement officials said.
A marine unit attached to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department discovered the spill off the 500 block of Las Olas Boulevard shortly before 11 a.m., Detective Ali Adamson, a public information officer, said in an email.
“Officers were able to follow the fuel along the New River. However, due to the outgoing tide, they were unable to determine the source of the spill,” she said. “The Marine Unit officers called the spill into the United States Coast Guard. Additionally, the Department of Environmental Protection is responding to further assess the waterway.”
“The investigation remains ongoing,” she said.
The Coast Guard, which monitors and regulates marine traffic along the river, acknowledged it is working with the city’s police and fire departments, as well as with the state environmental agency.
Eric Rodriguez, a public affairs officer based in Miami Beach, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the Coast Guard received a notification about 1 p.m. Monday.
“No one has still figured out the source,” he said, adding that the state environmental agency has taken the lead in the investigation.
He said “we’re continuing to investigate ourselves … working alongside the Florida Department of Environmental Protection” starting Tuesday morning.
Witnesses have reported that the oil “is dissipating on its own,” Rodriguez said.
The New River is among the city’s most highly trafficked waterways, with a steady stream of private yachts, tour boats, taxis and commercial vessels passing through downtown each day to reach homes, restaurants, marinas and maintenance yards.