A tugboat connected to the Philadelphia Belle on the Mississippi River was initially determined to be the source of an oil spill.
"We deployed one team to investigate here and the spill has apparently stopped," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Bert Woods.
The Coast Guard had been summoned to help local officials determine the source of a sheen, that some said appeared to be oil, along the shore of the Mississippi River in downtown Moline, Illinois.
Initial reports at about 3 p.m. Friday, March 13, 2015, indicated possible oil in the water in the slough between Arsenal Island and Moline. City responders reported a sheen on the water near the iWireless Center, just upstream near John Deere Commons by TGIFridays, and just upstream from there as well.
The Rock Island Arsenal and the Moline Fire Department confirmed that the oil was coming from the tugboat connected to the Philadelphia Belle.
"There was quite a bit in the water, so we want to find it quick and make sure its stopped so we can limit the affect it has on the environment and everything else," said Todd Allen, Moline Fire Department Battalion Chief.
"We believe it happened by the company pumping their water, what they perceived as water out of their void space," said Lt. Woods.
As crews earlier in the day worked to identify where the substance was coming from, Coast Guard spokesperson Michael Lewis said area affected was approximately a quarter-mile in length.
Lewis also cautioned that it is easy for small spills to look worse than they really are, because even a small spill can easily spread.
As investigators focused on the tugboat connected to the Philadelphia Belle, initial reports also indicated that something had been bubbling in the water near the Celebration Belle. The Philadelphia Belle was docked upstream right next to the Celebration Belle.
The Philadelphia Belle is reportedly the former Mississippi Belle II that operated as a gaming and cruise boat out of Clinton, Iowa.
Local water utilities, including Iowa American Water, were also monitoring their intakes for any possible impact; none had been reported.
"Our water intakes are just downstream from where this spill occurred so our concern was the city drinking water and the water department's been testing the water throughout," said Allen.
The next course of action is clean up. According to Woods, the company that owns the Philadelphia Belle is enlisting their own emergency response to clean up the boat. They will also pick up an oil boom that was placed near the Rock Island Arsenal and they added some additional booms to contain the pollution.
Woods says they are still investigating what happened and any fines and penalties would be determined when they wrap up.