Oil Spill

Interstate 68 was closed in both directions at Sideling Hill in far western Washington County for about an hour Monday following to a tractor-trailer fire and oil spill, authorities said. The transmission blew on a tractor-trailer heading east on the interstate, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. No one was injured, an emergency services supervisor said. Police responded at around 7:40 a.m. Monday morning. One eastbound lane remained closed late Monday morning at Exit 74 (Md. 903/Mountain Road)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The cap over a broken BP wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is collecting more gushing crude day by day, but that's about the extent of the details known as authorities try to pinpoint how much oil is escaping, where it's going and what harm it will cause. The recently installed containment cap on the stricken BP wellhead is helping to limit the leak, collecting more than 620,000 gallons of oil Monday, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Tuesday in Washington.

An oil spill was reported in Clear Spring near the intersection of National Pike and Mill Street, also called U.S. 40 and Md. 68 respectively, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. Police were responding to the oil spill at 12:19 p.m. Tuesday. However, the area was clear by 1 p.m. Tuesday.

There was an oil spill on Interstate 81 southbound between Exit 1 in Williamsport and the bridge across the Potomac River, the Washington County Sheriff's Department reported. Police got the call around 7:30 a.m. The interstate shut down briefly at 7:48 a.m. so emergency crews could clean up the spill, but it reopened at 7:53. An engine from the Washington County Emergency Services and one from the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Company were on the scene. — Caleb Calhoun

PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) -- Intent on showing firm command of a deepening Gulf Coast environmental crisis, President Barack Obama kneeled on a Lousiana beach Friday and lamented the livelihoods and wildlife imperiled by America's largest-ever oil spill. He flew to the Gulf Coast amid a rising crescendo of criticism as crude continued to spew into nature after an oil rig exploded and sank April 20. Amid fears the tragedy could also engulf his presidency, Obama has launched a campaign to step up public engagement and directly confront the public's anger.

PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) -- As the crude crept closer to Florida, the risky effort to contain the nation's worst oil spill hit a snag Wednesday when a diamond-edged saw became stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the goal was to free the saw and finish the cut later in the day. This is the latest attempt to contain -- not plug -- the gusher. The best chance at stopping the leak is a relief well, which is at least two months from completion.

VENICE, La. (AP) -- BP PLC gave some assurance Monday to shrimpers, oil workers and scores of others that they will be paid for damage and injuries from the explosion of a drilling rig and the resulting massive oil spill in the Gulf. A fact sheet on the company website says BP takes responsibility for cleaning up the spill and will pay compensation for "legitimate and objectively verifiable" claims for property damage, personal injury and commercial losses. President Barack Obama and several attorneys general have asked the company to explain what exactly that means.

Police were responding to a minor oil spill around 11 a.m. Wednesday, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. The spill happened at the intersection of South Burhans Boulevard and Elgin Boulevard.

PORT FORCHOUN, La. (AP) -- A 100-ton contraption designed to help funnel out oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was loaded onto a barge Wednesday so it could begin its journey to the leak site about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The giant-concrete-and-steel box is the best short-term solution to bottling up the disastrous oil spill that threatens sealife and livelihoods along the Gulf Coast. BP spokesman John Curry said it would be deployed on the seabed by Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats are giving up on plans to pass an energy bill that caps emissions of carbon dioxide, saying Republicans refuse to support the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said no Republican was willing to back a comprehensive energy bill, a development he called "terribly disappointing. " Democrats have been trying for more than a year to pass a plan that charges utilities and other major polluters for their carbon emissions. A compromise plan to limit emissions only from utilities also failed to attract the 60 votes needed to advance it in the 100-member chamber.

Interstate 68 was closed in both directions at Sideling Hill in far western Washington County for about an hour Monday following to a tractor-trailer fire and oil spill, authorities said. The transmission blew on a tractor-trailer heading east on the interstate, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. No one was injured, an emergency services supervisor said. Police responded at around 7:40 a.m. Monday morning. One eastbound lane remained closed late Monday morning at Exit 74 (Md. 903/Mountain Road)

County's deal for school land still needs to be explained To the editor: I was struck by a question not answered by Commissioner William McKinley in his Oct. 2 letter regarding the recent purchase of land for the proposed West City elementary school. Assuming that McKinley's facts are accurate, he still has not answered the question that lends a certain odor to this purchase. First, it stretches the imagination of any Washington County homeowner who has endured the settlement on a mere house to believe that The Rachuba Group received approval on their site plan in 2006, but none of its officers or lawyers, nor any county officials, noticed that the necessary signatures were absent.

An oil spill was reported in Clear Spring near the intersection of National Pike and Mill Street, also called U.S. 40 and Md. 68 respectively, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. Police were responding to the oil spill at 12:19 p.m. Tuesday. However, the area was clear by 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Police were responding to a minor oil spill around 11 a.m. Wednesday, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. The spill happened at the intersection of South Burhans Boulevard and Elgin Boulevard.

There was an oil spill on Interstate 81 southbound between Exit 1 in Williamsport and the bridge across the Potomac River, the Washington County Sheriff's Department reported. Police got the call around 7:30 a.m. The interstate shut down briefly at 7:48 a.m. so emergency crews could clean up the spill, but it reopened at 7:53. An engine from the Washington County Emergency Services and one from the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Company were on the scene. — Caleb Calhoun

NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) -- An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday, the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. This time, the Coast Guard said there was no leak, and no one was killed. The Coast Guard initially reported that an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the blast, about 200 miles west of the source of BP's massive spill. But hours later, Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said crews were unable to find any spill.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- As David Donohue spoke Thursday morning, he wasn't yet aware his comrades from the U.S. Coast Guard were racing to an offshore petroleum platform that exploded off the coast of Louisiana. Donohue, Franklin County's director of emergency services, was telling the Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioners about his recently completed 60-day deployment to the Gulf Coast as reports started developing regarding the latest explosion. The commissioners thanked Donohue for his response and talents as well as keeping in contact with his Franklin County staff this summer.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department and BP announced Monday that they have finished negotiations to implement a $20 billion fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and that BP has made a $3 billion initial deposit. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli said the department is pleased that BP made an initial contribution and had taken "an important step toward honoring its commitment to the president and the residents and business owners in the Gulf region. " The company still needs to ensure that all the necessary funds will be available if something happens to the BP subsidiary that established the trust and that the Justice Department looks forward to completing an appropriate security arrangement in the near future, said Perrelli.

"I have worked all my life, and thankfully I was able to save a few dollars. With these savings I invested in a few shares of Exxon, Verizon, Kimberly Clark and others; some winners, and many losers. I keep hearing people blaming the rich corporations for what ails us. Please realize that these corporations are made up of many smaller (companies). " - Smithsburg "Why was the big plane flying low over Washington County all the time? That's what several Mail Callers have asked in the column, and after reading this week about the local ... plane that's heading to the Gulf to map the oil spill, I was curious ... are they looking for oil in Washington County?"

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats are giving up on plans to pass an energy bill that caps emissions of carbon dioxide, saying Republicans refuse to support the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said no Republican was willing to back a comprehensive energy bill, a development he called "terribly disappointing. " Democrats have been trying for more than a year to pass a plan that charges utilities and other major polluters for their carbon emissions. A compromise plan to limit emissions only from utilities also failed to attract the 60 votes needed to advance it in the 100-member chamber.