Authorities clean up diesel fuel spill in Intracoastal Waterway

Authorities have collected most of the diesel fuel that seeped into the Intracoastal Waterway Monday afternoon after a tanker truck malfunctioned, the state's Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday.

State officials estimate that about 50 gallons spilled into the storm drains and another 50 made it into the water. A cleanup contractor had collected most of the fuel by Tuesday, although some booms will be left in place to absorb any "residual" fuel, according to the DEP.

"There is unrecoverable silvery sheen present in the area," a DEP statement reads, "which will be left to dissipate naturally."

The spill occurred Monday about 3 p.m. when the owner of a boat at 3111 Wedgewood Drive in Belleair Beach called Offshore Fuels to have the boat refueled. The company's truck had some sort of malfunction, spilling fuel into the stormwater drain.