Oil leaks off the Louisiana coast, but cleaning continues

After more than a week of oil that shoot vertically from an unused fountain off the coast of LouisianaThe US Coast Guard announced on Sunday evening that the offshore borehole – was reported for the first time on April 26.

The fountain had described oil and natural gas in a 30 to 40 foot “geyser oil” and a witness, contaminated nearby and protected the habitats of the golf coast and prompted a large-scale emergency reaction.

“Control over discharge is an important milestone, but it is only the beginning of our work. The uniform command is fully used on site and will remain as long as necessary to ensure the removal of oil and the safety of the municipality and the ecosystem,” said US coast, capt. Greg Callaghan, a federal scene coordinator who monitored the coordinator who monitored the coordinator.

The Federal Government took control of the reaction efforts on Thursday, with the coast guard taking over the coordination of Spectrum Opco, the company that operates the fountain together with the coordinator of Louisiana Oil Spill. Clearing work and reduction efforts are continued, which affect the national administration of the ocean and atmosphere, the coast guard as well as several state and local authorities as well as private contractors of the fountain owner.

The coast guard said that an “oiled bird” was discovered near the burial place, but was not captured. The agency said that no other wildlife effects have yet been reported. However, federal cards online indicate that pollutants are immersed in a protected area for endangered sea turtles.

The office for reaction and restoration of NOAA, which offers scientific support during oil and chemical spills, has recently seen A Drastic reduction in staff. According to former employees who spoke to CBS News Efficiency of the government's Ministry Initiative.

The employees of the Office for Responsibility and Restoration react to around 150 incidents per year and, according to his website, train around 1,000 people from state and private companies about “the scientific aspects of oil and chemical shot reaction”. Former specialists for disaster reaction and national environmental groups Are worried About the ability of the program office to have the ability to continue this mission and to react to emergencies such as the oil pollution of Louisiana. In the meantime, the Trump government has pushed to expand offshore oil bores And accelerate the approval process and reduce the schedules from the current to two years to just a few weeks.

The authorities have not published any information about the cause of the blowout or the total volume of the oil in the Marsland of the Louisiana Gulf Coast. In a report that was submitted to the National Response Center of the Coast Guard, however, it was found that “the released amount could possibly reach the threshold of greater spill for coastal waters – over 100,000 gallons”. The report was publicly made available by the non -profit Watchdog group Skytruth, which monitors the environmental threats worldwide using satellite images.

So far, the coast guard has stated that it has collected about 70,000 gallons of an oily watery mixture from the spill area.

The incident shows a broader challenge that looks against Louisiana and other countries: the growing problem of the orphaned and aging oil drilling. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act Assigned 4.7 billion US dollars to end the orphan fountain nationwide. Louisiana received 25 million US dollars, which made it possible for the state to connect 500 wells – although according to the state, more than 4,000 are estimated. It is expected that they will receive 86 million US dollars more in the coming years and may be more than half of the non -trapped fountain of the state of the state more susceptible to incidents such as the current spill in Garden Island Bay.

This special fountain, known, called #59, was not given up, but according to the coast guard, it had no measurable oil pressure since the 1990s. The coast guard says it was secured when it was closed in 2016 by the use.

“The fountain was secured by the valves were closed.

Due to the distant nature of the spilling location, it took about a week for devices to get the equipment. Oil sprayed for eight days until the leak was limited on Sunday.

Community members of the nearest habitable country at the burial site in Plauckine Parish Say CBS messages like the Well #59 incident frequently and that many oil leaks can continue to spill for some time until a passerby see them by chance.

A recently carried out study estimates that there are more than 14,000 unplugged oil and gas bores in the Gulf of Mexico alone.