Spill Cleanup Under Way in Louisiana
Repair work on the damaged section of pipeline was under way on Sunday, and by then more than 6,000 gallons of oily water mixture had been recovered, the Coast Guard's District 8 reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, and ECM Maritime Services are cleaning up an oil spill near Bay Long, La., that began late last week when a subcontractor for Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company accidentally cut it with a marsh excavator while performing restoration activities, according to the Coast Guard and reports from The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Repair work on the damaged section of pipeline was under way on Sunday, and by then more than 6,000 gallons of oily water mixture had been recovered, the Coast Guard's District 8 reported on its website. At that point, 155 personnel, 25 boats, seven skimmers, and more than 12,000 feet of boom had been deployed to contain and recover the oil.
District 8 reported that about 200 birds were observed as oiled in the Cheniere Ronquille Barrier Island and East Grand Terre Island areas, and crews were working to safely capture oiled wildlife. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is leading the assessment of shoreline oiling, and aerial assessments were being conducted of the site and surrounding areas to guide response efforts.