'No definitive answer': Questions remain as crews remove booms from Buffalo River

Neighbors near the Buffalo River are raising questions about a mysterious oily, rainbow-colored sheen after crews removed booms that had been placed in the water in early October. One kayaker said she may have spotted signs of the problem months ago.

Jaime Hodge said she and her family were kayaking on the Buffalo River over Memorial Day weekend when they came around a bend near the foot of Pomona Place and noticed a substance in the water, along with a strong odor.

"The smell of gas is horrible," Hodge said in video taken during the kayaking trip.

Hodge said a friend reported what they saw to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and DEC trucks arrived on Bailey Avenue shortly afterward. She said she never heard what investigators determined.

She thinks it's possible that the spill she saw is the one that has caused new oil sheens along the Buffalo River this fall.

"Since this was May and we're now, you know, two days away from November, I would think in that time they could have at least found where it's coming from," Hodge said.

The discovery has taken on new significance as questions continue about the oily sheen seen elsewhere on the Buffalo River.

On Friday morning, a crew contracted by the DEC was seen removing booms from the river near the South Ogden Street Bridge, even as the oily sheen remained visible in the water.

Two South Ogden Street residents expressed concern about removing the booms before the source of the sheen has been identified.

"We have no definitive answer from the DEC about what's in the river," one resident, identified as Andrew, said. "We have no definitive answer of where it's coming from, and the one thing that they were able to do is control it. Now they're taking out the controls."

Another resident, Jim Duerr, called for Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan to become involved.

"We need Mayor Ryan down here, get involved," Duerr said. "He's got other issues on his plate. This is a big issue. We need his involvement."

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper said it was told by the DEC that the sheen was too thin for the booms to absorb. The organization said it was also told that other methods, including vacuuming the substance, had not worked.

According to Buffalo Riverkeeper, the DEC has checked drains, pipelines and brownfield sites as part of its investigation but has not determined the source of the sheen.

WATCH: 'No definitive answer': Questions remain as crews remove booms from Buffalo River