UPDATE:
As of 3:30 p.m., the St. Marys River has been re-opened, but the investigation into the oil spill still remains.
The spill occurred around 8:30 a.m. from Algoma Steel, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Sector Sault Coast Guard says around 5,000 gallons of mechanical oil leaked into the river. As of 2:30 p.m., the sheen was three miles down the river from the Soo Locks.
While the Canadians worked on containing the spread of the spill, the coast guard had several means at their disposal to track the sheen.
“We had the helicopter do a fly over, we had the small boat go out and look at the extent of the sheen, we had a couple of unmanned aerial vehicles that we had up looking around,” said Anthony Jones, Commander Sector Sault Coast Guard. “And we had some folks walking the beach line.”
Officials from Canada will be the main investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard officials assisting.
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An oil spill has caused the St. Marys River to close to shipping traffic from the Soo Locks down to 9 Mile Point, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The spill is about 5,000 gallons of oil from Algoma Steel, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, and oil sheen has been reported on the north side of Sugar Island.
Teams are on the way to investigate the spill.
Stay with 9&10 News as we work to bring you more information.
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