Divers are braving the dark depths of Lake Champlain to see if there’s still fuel on a tugboat that sank in 1963.
The William H. McAllister once hauled barges between Vermont and New York. It was wrecked by a reef a half-century ago.
Federal officials and environmentalists worry that it could still be holding up to 14,000 gallons of diesel fuel and, if released, could hurt fish and wildlife. Records have never been clear, and it’s unknown whether any fuel is still aboard.
Divers now are trying to find the fuel tanks.
A member of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency response team says it’s hard to say how long recovery would take if fuel is found.