$2.1 Million Recovered for Restoration at the Bayport Channel Oil Spill Site in Texas

SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 1, 2021 the Department of Justice announced that a consent decree valued at $2.1 million was finalized to restore natural resources damaged during the Bayport Channel oil spill.

An aerial view of an oil spill.
Aerial view of skimmer boats and skimming equipment removing the last of the product around the collision site on the Houston Ship Channel on May 14, 2019 near Bayport. Image credit: U.S. Coast Guard.

On May 10, 2019, an estimated 599,676 gallons of oil in the form of a gasoline blending stock known as reformate was discharged from tank barge 30015T during a collision with the tanker ship Genesis River. Oil discharged from the barge into the waterway and polluted parts of the Houston Ship Channel, Galveston Bay, and the Texas Coastline. 

Following the spill, NOAA and co-trustees worked with the responsible party to cooperatively assess natural resource damages arising from the spill. The proposed settlement will go toward resolving natural resource damage claims and restoring habitats impacted by the spill. 

For more information please contact Laurie.Sullivan@noaa.gov.

Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:42pm PST