Dubuque to seek federal funds to clean up oil spill

State environmental officials say an old petroleum spill near the Port of Dubuque probably won’t threaten drinking water, but Dubuque officials want to clean it up. The City of Dubuque is seeking a federal grant to help cover the costs of cleaning up a 12-year-old petroleum spill. Storage tanks located near the so-called “America’s River” project in Dubuque leaked, and officials want to clean up the spill so the project, which is to showcase the Mississippi River with a museum, aquarium and water park will never be affected. The idea is to build some sort of barrier so the slow-moving spill before it reaches the river. State officials say if the spill ever did reach the river, the Mississippi is so deep and wide in Dubuque, the petroleum would quickly be diluted and it wouldn’t pose a threat to riverlife or drinking water.