Ohio River Reopens as Oil Spill Clean-up Progresses

A 15-mile section of the Ohio River was reopened for limited traffic on Wednesday as clean-up of a 5,000-gallon fuel oil spill continued, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard closed a stretch of the river between Cincinnati, Ohio and Dayton, Kentucky on Tuesday after a spill during a "routine transfer of fuel oil" at a 60-year-old power plant owned by Duke Energy (DUK), 20 miles east of Cincinnati.

"The river is open. Vessels can transit as long as they call the Coast Guard command center to get permission first," said Lt. Kate Cameron of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Restrictions on traffic will continue as the clean-up progresses, the Coast Guard said, without giving a timeline.

A Duke Energy spokeswoman said a "good portion" of the oil had been cleaned up from the surface of the river. It continues to assess the situation with clean-up crews, a spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman for the Greater Cincinnati Water Works said on Wednesday that drinking water intakes from the river were reopened late on Tuesday after testing throughout the day, and that there was no impact to drinking water.

(Reporting by Chris Stebbins in Chicago and Edward McAllister in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)