The State - News from May 10, 1989

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the operators of a Navy-owned ship that discharged a million gallons of possibly contaminated ballast water into the ocean off Northern California on April 25, officials said. Coast Guard Cmdr. Scott Porter said only a “minimal” amount of diesel fuel was mixed with the seawater that was used as ballast. But he said EPA and Navy officials are investigating whether the Walter S. Diehl, which is operated by the Military Sealift Command, a civilian-run arm of the Navy, made the discharge despite warnings against it by both the EPA and Coast Guard. The Diehl dumped the ballast 100 miles off Point Reyes National Seashore.