OIL SPILL IN WETLANDS AREA

    WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Mercer)—Firefighters responded to an oil spill in a waterway on Hutchinson Road, September 27, 2000 at 6:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived they found a heavy oil slick in a stream seeping into a sensitive wetlands area. Firefighters immediately applied oil absorbing pads and booms to help keep the oil from spreading further into the wetlands.  The Hamilton Township Hazardous Materials Team responded and applied more absorbing booms further down stream and beefed up earlier containment efforts. Firefighters traced the oil spill back to a local residence where a heating oil company overfilled an oil tank that caused the spill. Firefighters assisted the homeowner in cleaning up the oil spill in his basement and outside the residence. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and a clean up contractor were contacted to finish cleaning up the spill.