NATCHEZ — Cleanup of a late January oil spill caused by a barge strike on a Mississippi River bridge pier has quietly continued south of the Natchez-Adams County Port.

Adams County Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford said the barge’s owner — Magnolia Marine — has been taking samples and conducting the cleanup to an area that is confined to 30 to 40 feet.

“They have a disposal unit down at the port, and once everything is cleared they will weigh it and see how much it is,” Bradford said.

The spill happened Jan. 21, when a barge being transported by the tow vessel Amy Francis reportedly struck the Mississippi River bridge. Two of the barges the boat was moving were empty, but four contained oil slurry.

The damaged barge was moved to an area south of the port near St. Catherine Creek. The U.S. Coast Guard — which has a cutter based in Natchez — and Magnolia Marine were later able to remove 700,000 gallons of slurry from the damaged vessel into two Magnolia Marine transport barges.

The Coast Guard estimated at the time approximately 24,600 gallons of oil was unaccounted for after the recovery.

Side scanning sonar searches by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were unsuccessful in locating the missing oil.

The cleanup was initially hampered by then river levels that were well above flood stage, which have since fallen but are on the rise again thanks to recent heavy rains.

“The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is monitoring it, but with the rainfall we’ve had they might push it back before they make a determination of what (amount) was spilled,” Bradford said.

“It hasn’t stopped the operation but it has hindered it. The main thing is to make sure there is no contamination as far as the vegetation or soil is concerned.”