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A third fuel spill on Oriental Harbor over the weekend makes for three spills in as many months.

“This is the second one of the year, and there was another in November of last year,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “So they’re coming pretty close together.”

On Monday, Sound Rivers Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz snapped photos of the spill, while Samantha reported to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“I informed the Coast Guard — the local Fort Macon folks — but they did not go out to the site. A local police officer from Oriental was on site and, in talking to the Coast Guard, they determined it was too small of a spill, and it would dissipate before they got there because it takes a while to get to Oriental from Fort Macon,” Samantha said.

The location, combined with size of the fuel spills, are contributing to the continuing pollution, she said.

“The problem is that we don’t have anyone who is holding whoever’s responsible for these spills accountable,” Samantha said. “Right now, there’s one open investigation for the November spill, but there is no investigation for either of the January spills. It seems to be, at the very least, a recurring issue from one or two bad actors, and we’re concerned it’s going to continue to happen.”

Samantha said she, with Emily’s help, will continue to document the spills and report them when they occur.

“The one hopeful thing for me is the Coast Guard is excited to work with us to come up with a more localized plan of action — educating the community about what to look for with a suspected spill, who to call these things in to, and potentially have the town, community members and the Coast Guard working together on these issues, so we can put an end to the pollution,” Samantha said.

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