About 2,000 gallons of oil spilled into Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Wednesday afternoon.
A pair of diesel fuel tanks that were headed for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine was found to be the source of the leak.
"Earlier today, during routine fuel delivery by a third-party vendor, two diesel tanks which supply power for backup generators for our patient care facilities at Johns Hopkins in East Baltimore were accidentally overfilled causing overflow," a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine said in a statement. "We immediately notified the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) of the overflow while continuing to investigate, and we proactively reached out again to MDE as we learned more about the estimated overflow volume. We also are actively working with local, state, and federal authorities to support the response in the Baltimore Inner Harbor."
Cleanup is being overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Tri-State Bird Rescue will assist with any impacts on wildlife.
Crews are utilizing anti-pollution agents to contain the spread of the oil spill, which is appearing red on the water from dye in the oil.
So far, the leak has been contained to the marina area of the South Central Avenue Bridge, a space that's roughly 100-by-250 yards.
This story was originally published by Brin Moulton with the Scripps News Group in Baltimore.
