600-mile circumference oil spill threatens Gulf shoreline

Chart of oil sheen as shown by overflight.

By Carol Forsloff

BATON ROUGE – The 600-mile circumference oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico shows no sign of being contained and is shaping up to be one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history.

Authorities are desperately searching for answers and think the oil will begin creeping up on delicate shorelines by this weekend if the daily leakage of tens of thousands of gallons of crude are not stopped from the BP-sponsored drill that went down in flames on April 21.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered contingency measures to combat shoreline pollution.

A desperate measure that may be tried is torching some of the oil slick.

“An overflight on Monday, April 26 at 1:30 PM CST determined there was a 600-mile circumference rainbow sheen with areas of emulsified crude approximately 36 miles offshore the coast of Louisiana,” said the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said:

* More than 29,280 feet of boom (barrier) has been assigned to contain the spill. An additional 80,900 feet is available and 36,100 feet has been ordered.

* To date, the oil spill response team has recovered 1,152 barrels (43,384 gallons) of an oil-water mix. Vessels are in place and continuing recovery operations.

* 49 response vessels are being used including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels.

* 29,140 gallons of dispersant have been deployed and an additional 119,734 gallons are available.

* Five staging areas are in place and ready to protect sensitive shorelines. These areas include, Biloxi, Miss., Pensacola, Fla. Venice, La., Pascagoula, Miss. and Theodore, Ala.

Jindal ordered an immediate response to what now seems inevitable as a multi-day effort has failed to stop oil spewing from two locations in a pipe that brings oil to the surface.

“Out of an abundance of caution, I have directed all agencies to examine their roles in the response to potential damage caused by oil in the event it moves to Louisiana’s coast,” he said.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will be working with state and federal agencies as well as BP to help mitigate impacts of oil seepage on fish and wildlife in coastal land areas.

Surveys of environmentally sensitive areas were made on Monday and Tuesday, focusing on the area called Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Area and Breton National Wildlife Refuge at the southeastern tip of the Louisiana coastline. Some of the seabirds found in these places would be threatened and endangered if the oil reaches shore.

“Our goal is to protect the fragile ecosystems in whatever location the oil is carried ashore by Gulf currents and wind activity,” said Robert Barham, LDWF secretary.

Various agencies involved in the efforts to protect the wildlife and environment of the coast include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, the La. Department of Environmental Quality, the La. Department of Natural Resources, the La. Oil Spill Coordinators Office, the La. Dept. of Environmental Quality, GOHSEP and BP.

In the meantime a boom was deployed today on Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in four predetermined critical areas . This was done in anticipation of oil seepage reaching the area where nesting bird habitats are located.as a precautionary measure at the state’s request. Approximately 55,000 feet of booming will target sensitive areas on the WMA where nesting bird habitats are located.

Estimates are being made of possible damage to the coast from the oil spill and agencies are determining whether a freshwater diversion and pumping stations can be used to reduce the impact of oil reaching Louisiana’s coast and fisheries.

The Unified Command continues its response to the oil spill with more than 1000 personnel involved in the effort to prevent a disaster on the coast that could negatively impact the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Related articles:

1. 42,000 gallons of oil leaking into Gulf of Mexico
2. BP gets green light to try ‘Top Kill’

Posted by Carol Forsloff on Apr 28 2010. Filed under Featured, More News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry