VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- More than two weeks later, the emergency phase of the Naval Air Station Oceana jet fuel spill cleanup is over.
It's been fifteen days since a misplaced switch caused the spill of 94-thousand gallons of J-P-Five fuel.
Most of the toxic liquid was contained on base, but at least 25-thousand gallons got into the watershed off base.
More than 700 types of wildlife, mostly fish, were killed, and more than 50 families were relocated to area motels.
Oceana's commanding officer today reaffirmed the Navy's commitment to the impacted neighbors.
"As I've said before, our commitment is to the residents," said Capt. Rich Meadows "We've contacted you. You've reached out to us. We continue to address your concerns, and we're working to retain, or, regain your trust."
The captain said the cleanup will now move into what he called the "assessment" and "remediation phases."
Far less definitive was where things stand on the investigation, specially, how a switch was in the wrong position, and, who was at fault.
"The investigation will continue and we're get that word to you once we find out," said Meadows. "We'll know when we know."
The Navy says all recoverable jet fuel has been removed, but residents may still notice patches of light sheen or slight residual odor at times, adding there are no health hazards associated with this and it will diminish over time.
Wildlife and natural resources experts this week released three rehabilitated animals affected by the spill.
The Coast Guard leader from the unified command said team members have gone to great lengths to clean and preserve the impacted natural resources.
"We have taken deliberate, methodical steps to ensure that we have minimized the impact to the environment," said Capt. Kevin Carroll.
The Navy said 51 families took up the offer for free relocation to area motels, and that all but 20 of them have now returned to their homes. That offer is good until next Tuesday, but may be reevaluated on an as-requested basis, according to the Navy's Captain Meadows.
He said there is no calculation yet on what this spill and cleanup has cost taxpayers.