A sailor involved in a 94,000-gallon jet fuel spill at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, has been discharged from the Navy.
On May 10, fuel was accidentally being pumped from a 880,000-gallon tank into 2,000-gallon tank. The spill was not discovered until the next day, Navy officials said this summer.
About 25,000 of those spilled gallons seeped into local streams, according to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, the command that oversees Oceana.
The sailor discharged this week pleaded guilty to charges last month and was administratively separated in lieu of a court-martial.
The service generally does not identify sailors who receive administrative punishment.
Nine uniformed personnel were disciplined in connection to the spill, with punishments ranging from rank reductions to pay forfeitures and punitive reprimands.
The command said several steps have been taken to ensure such an incident does not happen again, including adding more watch personnel and conducting a review of procedures and fuel management processes.
Affected environments in the spill area continued to be monitored, as is testing of local wells.
The Navy has paid about $3.8 million for cleanup efforts and support to affected families.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
