Louisiana: Large amounts
of Oil from BP's Major oil spill still coming ashore
By the CNN Wire Staff
January 8, 2011 4:18 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Parish president: The shoreline is moving inland, lessening
flood protection
* Coast Guard official: The cleanup plan must not further
damage the environment
* Report: Without significant reform, another well blowout
could occur
(CNN) -- More than eight months after an oil rig explosion
launched the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history, Louisiana
officials say they're still finding thick layers of oil along
parts of the state's coastline.
"Every day, this shoreline is moving inland," lessening flood
protection for residents, Plaquemines Parish President Billy
Nungesser said.
On Friday, Robert Barham, secretary of Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries, joined Nungesser on a tour of portion of
Louisiana's coastline still heavily oiled by the BP Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, according to a statement from the wildlife and
fisheries department.
"It has been eight months since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
explosion, and five months since the well was capped. While
workers along the coast dedicated themselves to cleaning up our
shores there is still so much to be done," Barham said in the
statement.
During a walking tour of an area called Bay Jimmy, Nungesser said
oil can be seen from a distance.
"When the tide is out ... you can see thick oil onto the water for
30, 40 feet out," the parish president said. "There's been no
mechanism to clean that up thus far."
At one point on Friday, Nungesser began cursing at U.S. Coast
Guard Cmdr. Dan Lauer.
"It seems like the federal agencies and the Coast Guard is there
protecting BP. You guys ought to be as angry as me, that we don't
have more people out here doing this," Nungesser said.
Lauer said officials are trying to determine the best way to rid
the oil while considering long-term effects of cleanup techniques.
"The main thing we want to make sure of is ... in trying to get
this oil out that we don't kill the rest of the isle -- that we
don't do more damage to the environment long-term than the good we
would do from removing this oil right now, " Lauer said.
"Clearly, there is oil. Clearly, this is heavily oiled marsh. But
we are working together in a team," Lauer said. "No one is walking
away. Clearly these are high priorities. But there are different
phases in different areas."
Louisiana officials said biologists have found several oiled birds
in the past few days, including at least two dead brown pelicans.
The wildlife and fisheries department also said oiled boom remains
in "numerous locations, forgotten or lost by contractors charged
with their maintenance and removal."
"We will continue to try to work with BP, their contractors and
federal officials to come up with reasonable, effective solutions
for treating and restoring our coastline," Barham said. "But we
won't step back while officials pack their bags and leave
Louisiana. We're hopeful that we can reach an agreement for the
next steps in our recovery plan."
The U.S. Department of the Interior said it was implementing
reforms and has deployed at least 214 personnel, including from
the Fish and Wildlife Service to address long-term damage and from
the National Park Service to assist with shoreline cleanup and
assessment, according to the department's website.
On Wednesday, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil
Spill and Offshore Drilling released a chapter of the report that
it says contains the key findings. The report is to be released in
full on Tuesday.
"The Macondo (well) blowout was the product of several individual
missteps and oversights by BP, Halliburton, and Transocean, which
government regulators lacked the authority, the necessary
resources, and the technical expertise to prevent," the report
says.
"The blowout was not the product of a series of aberrational
decisions made by rogue industry or government officials that
could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again.
Rather, the root causes are systemic and, absent significant
reform in both industry practices and government policies, might
well recur."
An April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of
Mexico killed 11 men and injured 17 working on the rig. The well
spewed crude into the gulf for three months before the wellhead
was successfully capped.
But nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil -- more than 200 million
gallons -- spilled into the salt waters, washing up onto beaches
and penetrating fragile marshes. Birds and other animals were
coated in an oily sheen.
The Deepwater Horizon rig was owned by Transocean and leased to
BP. Halliburton was installing the cement casing for the drill
operations.
"Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP,
Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the
Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time
(and money)," the report says.
BP spokesman Robert Sholars has said the oil giant "has cooperated
fully with the commission's investigation," stressing "that the
accident was the result of multiple causes, involving multiple
companies."
Halliburton issued a response to Wednesday's release, accusing the
commission of having "selectively omitted information we provided
to them." The company also disagreed with certain specifics,
saying the report mischaracterized foam stability tests.
Transocean issued a statement saying its crew had taken
"appropriate actions to gain control of the well. They were well
trained and considered to be among the best in the business."
CNN's Ken Tillis contributed to this report.