Fuel spill closes Georges Mills Boat Launch in Sunapee

The Georges Mills Boat Launch closed after a fuel spill was reported in Georges Mills Harbor, cutting off one of Sunapee’s key water access points and sending fire crews to the scene. The Town of Sunapee said the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services had been notified, and residents and visitors were told to stay away and not launch or retrieve boats until further notice.

Town officials said efforts were underway to contain and mitigate the spill, but they did not offer a reopening timeline. For boaters, that means plans for fishing trips, weekend outings and spring lake traffic may be on hold until responders finish their work and the area is cleared for use again.

The closure matters well beyond the launch ramp itself. Georges Mills is a busy harbor access point on Lake Sunapee, and any spill there can disrupt nearby dock traffic, shoreline activity and the timing of recreational travel through the Sunapee area. In early May, when seasonal use is starting to pick up, even a short shutdown can ripple through local routines.

State environmental officials were quickly pulled in. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services says its Spill Response and Complaint Investigation Section responds to petroleum and hazardous-waste spills statewide 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The agency also says oil or chemical spills affecting surface water can be reported through local fire departments, through state police dispatch after hours, or to the National Response Center in certain cases.

The Sunapee closure also echoes a similar incident in June 2023, when a fuel spill in Sunapee Harbor prompted another shutdown tied to containment and cleanup. In that case, Sunapee Fire responded before 5 p.m. on a Saturday, and WMUR later reported that the harbor boat launch reopened Wednesday afternoon after crews contained the spill close to land. NBC Boston reported then that Sunapee Fire, Newbury Fire and state environmental officials worked together to contain the diesel spill.

Lake Sunapee is no stranger to close monitoring. DES says its Volunteer Lake Assessment Program began in 1985, and the state has more than 800 public lakes and ponds. That long-running oversight underscores why even a harbor fuel spill gets immediate attention in Sunapee: the concern is not only whether the launch can reopen, but whether the water, shoreline and wildlife can be protected while the cleanup is completed.