A contractor is working to recover an estimated 50 gallons of fuel oil that spilled where the Jones Falls meets the Inner Harbor Saturday morning, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
A U.S. Coast Guard contractor is using a vacuum truck to attempt to recover fuel at the site, near Port Discovery Children’s Museum, said department spokesman Jay Apperson.
Apperson said the department’s emergency response division is also at the site, and is using a “100-long piece of floating sorbet material where the Jones Falls comes out from underground to help determine whether or not there is additional oil coming down the falls."
He said officials do not know the source of the spill of red-dyed #2 fuel oil.
The contamination was reported about 8:30 a.m. near the intersection of East Pratt and South President streets, Baltimore Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Adams said.
She initially indicated “Hundreds of gallons” spilled into the harbor.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article.