Governor Jindal: Millions Of Gallons Of Oil Remain In The Gulf
Governor Bobby Jindal took a tour of the Deepwater Horizon spill site to assess the millions of gallons of oil that remain in the Gulf of Mexico and threaten Louisiana’s fragile coastline.
The Governor highlighted the numerous coastal protection strategies deployed by the state and coastal parishes to fight the spill and he called these defense measures critical in the continued battle against the millions of gallons of oil that is still in the Gulf and expected to impact Louisiana.
Governor Jindal said, “Today we traveled to the Deepwater Horizon spill site and saw the many miles of sheen and oil still in the water. According to one oil budget estimate from the U.S. Coast Guard, a total of around 5.4 million barrels of oil have spilled into the Gulf over the months of this spill. This is based on an estimate of 60,000 barrels on average being released from the well each day. They estimate that more than 1.59 million barrels of oil still remain in the Gulf – and that is after they calculated for an estimated 100,000 barrels collected by skimming, 262,000 barrels that have been burned, 823,000 barrels that were contained and more than 2.6 million barrels of oil they believe have either evaporated or biodegraded on their own.
“The bottom line here is clear – we still have tens of millions of gallons of oil out in the Gulf – some of which we saw today – that is still headed toward our coast. That is tens of millions of gallons of oil headed toward our Louisiana shoreline, 474.3 miles of which has already been impacted by oil.”
“As you know, we have worked with parish and local officials to be forward leaning throughout the response efforts to protect our coast, our economy, and fundamentally our Louisiana way of life. Many times we adapted our coastal protection strategies to adjust to the lack of resources – or the slow deployment or arrival of resources. We knew we would not find a silver bullet, so we adapted a variety of strategies, including nearly 40 miles of sand berm, more than 14 miles of tiger dams, more than 11 miles of Hesco basket barriers, and nearly 3 miles of barges.
“In all, we have used sand, sand-bags, barges, hard boom, soft boom, rigid pipe boom, tiger dams, Hesco baskets, xtex fabric, sheet pile, rocks and dirt to supplement the lack of available resources during the ongoing spill response. Today, we saw that those defense measures are still important to protect our coast over the next few months – and some estimate even years – while oil is still expected to be in our waters and hitting our shores.”
ONGOING COASTAL PROTECTION MEASURES
- Governor Jindal provided an update for the ongoing coastal protection measures undertaken by the state:
- The Louisiana National Guard continues to reinforce two land bridges – one at Caminada Pass at Elmer’s Island and one at Thunder Bayou. Engineers continue to place additional fill material and geotextile. To date, over 2,545 linear feet of reinforcement has been placed at Thunder Bayou and over 1,005 linear feet at Caminada Pass.
- In Lafourche Parish, the Louisiana National Guard installed an additional 60 feet of Hesco barrier wall. This project is in addition to the 2 1/2 miles of barrier protection previously installed near Port Fourchon.
- The Louisiana National Guard installed approximately 7 ¼ miles of Hesco barrier on the shoreline of Cameron Parish. Engineers are monitoring and making improvements at this site.
- At Pelican and Scofield Islands, the Louisiana National Guard completed a total of 14 gaps (8 at Pelican and 6 at Scofield). A total of 14,661 sandbags have been dropped at Scofield Island. To date, a total of 7,658 sandbags have been emplaced at Pelican Island. In total, the Louisiana National Guard has placed around 45 million pounds of sand to fill coastal gaps.
- In Plaquemines Parish, reinforcement work is completed on the back levee at 14 sites from Myrtle Grove and La Reussite. Previously, National Guardsmen completed emplacing small sandbags in 6 locations in the same vicinity. All 6 sites were completed with over 4,900 sandbags in place.
AGENDA FOR REVITALIZING LOUISIANA
Governor Jindal also highlighted his “Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana” which sets a pathway forward for restoring Louisiana’s coast through four priority initiatives: implementing a coastal restoration plan, certifying Louisiana’s seafood and getting fishermen back on the water, lifting the moratorium so Louisiana can refuel America and holding BP accountable until Louisiana’s wildlife, air and marshes are restored.
The full “Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana” can be found here
Topics: 2010, BP, British Petroleum, Chandeleur Islands, Coast Guard, coastline, Deepwater Horizon, Economy, environment, environmental impact, geotextile, Governance, government, Governor Bobby Jindal, Gulf of Mexico, HESCO barriers, hospital emergency departments, illness, La Reussite, Louisiana, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana National Guard, Louisiana Poison Center, Mississippi Gulf Coast, moniter, monitor, Myrtle Grove, news, Obama Administration, oil spill, outpatient clinics, Pelican Island, physician's offices, pollution, Port Fourchon, sand berms, Scofield Island, Thunder Bayou, U.S., United States
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