Maryland lawmakers are seeking answers from the Air Force about a 32,000-gallon jet fuel spill at Joint Base Andrews that contaminated the local environment and went unreported for weeks. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS)
Maryland lawmakers are seeking answers from the Air Force about a 32,000-gallon jet fuel spill at Joint Base Andrews that led to contamination of the local environment and went unreported for weeks.
In a letter to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, the lawmakers expressed concern over what they said was a lack of transparency around the spill.
The intermittent leaks occurred between January and March, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, and were not identified until staff on the base saw a fuel sheen and smelled fuel on Piscataway Creek on March 23.
Lawmakers said there was a “notable” delay between the discovery of the spill and when the department received full information about the volume of the spill, with Joint Base Andrews failing to provide final figures until April 8.
“Please provide a detailed timeline of when each leak was first detected, internally reported, and externally communicated,” the lawmakers wrote to Meink. All of Maryland’s federal lawmakers except its sole Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, signed the letter.
The Air Force’s failure to promptly notify the state delayed measures to contain the spread of the spill, according to lawmakers. An estimated 22,000 gallons of fuel contaminated the soil outside the base and the nearby Piscataway Creek. About 10,000 gallons of the total spill stayed contained.
“This fuel spill adds to existing environmental stressors affecting the watershed,” lawmakers wrote. “The release has the potential to cause further ecological harm to the Piscataway Creek, which flows into the Potomac River, a key Chesapeake Bay tributary.”
Joint Base Andrews, a 4,300-acre Air Force installation that is primarily known as the home of Air Force One, said last month that it was working with public health agencies and regulatory partners to ensure public safety and protect the surrounding environment.
“We take this fuel release seriously,” said Col. Jun Oh, Joint Base Andrews Installation Commander, said in a statement. “We strive to be good stewards of the environment as members of this community.”
A contractor is working to clean up the leak, which officials said came from a refueling system that has since been isolated and shut down, according to the installation. An investigation into the specific cause of the leak is ongoing.
Lawmakers said they wanted Meink to provide a briefing to their offices as well as answer a host of questions, including the status of remediation efforts and what steps are being taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
