Diesel Spill Closes Section of Houston Ship Channel

A small but busy section of the Houston Ship Channel was closed Tuesday morning after a report of a diesel spill in Greens Bayou. Update: The section of channel was reopened after about 2 hours. 

The Coast Guard says it received a report at about 7:13 a.m. that a diesel storage tank at cement facility was overflowing into the waterway. The spill is estimated to be about 1,000 gallons and originated at the South Central Cement facility.

The Captain of the Port established a safety zone at 7:57 a.m., closing the Upper Houston Ship Channel where it intersects Greens Bayou.

The Coast Guard has personnel on scene along with crew from Garner Environmental, which has been contracted by South Central Cement to conduct cleanup operations.

The diesel release has been secured and the spill is being contained using boom.

The section of the waterway closed leads to Kinder Morgan’s Galena Park terminal complex and three Houston-area refineries: Lyondellbasell’s 263,776 bpd plant; Valero Energy Corp’s 100,000 bpd plant; and Petrobras’ 100,000 bpd plant in Pasadena, Texas, according to Reuters.

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