Fifty years ago, on June 23, 1976, a National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) oil tanker ran aground, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the St. Lawrence River.
The so-called “Slick of ‘76” has become a thing of folklore and a warning of environmental devastation in the Thousand Islands and beyond. It even spawned a musical.
North Country native Emma French wanted to preserve the oral history of that time. So she made a short documentary featuring the residents, the muckers, and the responders to the disaster.
French told reporter David Sommerstein it was a foggy, humid night when the tanker hit a shoal off Wellesley Island. You can hear their conversation, and watch the documentary, at our reporting partner North Country Public Radio (NCPR).
NCPR is the member-supported public radio network serving as the primary NPR member station for the Adirondacks, the St. Lawrence Valley, the Champlain Valley, and the Thousand Islands region. NCPR operates a network of over 30 transmitters and translators covering northern New York, western Vermont, and parts of southeastern Ontario and Quebec. You can find the full broadcast schedule, become a member, or listen to their live stream directly on the North Country Public Radio website.
Illustration: The Nepco 140 spilling oil off Mason Point in the Thousand Islands in 1976 (courtesy Save the River).
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