[THS] Louisiana Lawmakers: BP Can't Handle Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup Anymore

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http://www.truthout.org/louisiana-lawmakers-bp-cant-handle-gulf-oil-spill-cleanup-anymore59416

Louisiana Lawmakers: BP Can't Handle Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup Anymore

Wednesday 12 May 2010

by: Bill Sasser  |  The Christian Science Monitor

Calls are mounting for the state of Louisiana and the federal government to wrest
control of the Gulf oil spill cleanup from BP. Two lawmakers say BP seems
'overwhelmed.'

Port Fourchon, La. - Several state lawmakers in Louisiana are ramping up their calls
for the state and the federal government to relieve British Petroleum of its authority in
the Gulf oil spill cleanup.

Golf balls, new containment dome on deck to stop Gulf oil spill Obama to sever ties
between drilling cops and Big Oil Gulf oil spill's environmental impact: How long to
recover? The three week-old environmental crisis took on new urgency last weekend
as oil moved west of the Mississippi River and threatened the Barataria, Terrebonne,
and Atchafalaya bays, as well as the wetlands of Jefferson, Lafourche, and
Terrebonne Parishes – among the state's most fertile fisheries.

Under current official structure, BP is directing operations to contain the slick while it
also works to stop the gushing oil well 50 miles offshore and nearly a mile below the
ocean surface. Each coastal parish is drawing up its own plan to defend its coastline,
but it needs final approval from BP and the Coast Guard. BP is also in charge of
supplying the effort with containment materials such as boom, which is becoming
increasingly difficult to find.

"We're at the point where we're going to have to break some rules to save
ourselves," says state Rep. Sam Jones of St. Mary Parish says, which includes
Atchafalaya Bay. "We're relying on a private company that seems to be
overwhelmed."

The solution, he says, is obvious: "We need to handle this like a hurricane, with the
governor's office in Baton Rouge in charge."

Local officials declared states of emergency as Gulf water areas in Jefferson,
Lafourche, and Terrebonne Parishes were closed to harvesting fish, shrimp, and
oysters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted
landfall for oil along Grand Isle and Port Fourchon by Tuesday, but the oil slick
remains several miles offshore. So far, no oil has been spotted on area beaches.

The bid to prevent oil from coming ashore in the parishes continues.

In Jefferson Parish, parish workers, the Coast Guard, and Louisiana National
Guardsmen in Grand Isle are scrambling to protect inland waters with sand berms
and deflection booms. Parish council member John Young called for state
intervention. "The US government and the state need to step in and takeover from
BP," says Mr. Young. "We should be responsible for our own plan as far as getting
approval for defending our coast."

In Terrebonne Parish, BP and the Coast Guard have established a response
headquarters in the fishing hamlet of Cocodrie, where hurricane Gustave made
landfall in September 2008. But much still depends on BP's future responsiveness.

"Our response plan was approved by the Coast Guard and by the responsible party,"
said Terrebonne public safety officer Ralph Mitchell, referring to BP. "The oil is still
offshore and we haven't seen any yet. We have some boom out and we're waiting for
more. The parish isn't responsible for getting it. We have to wait on BP."

In Lafourche Parish, efforts are focused on sandbagging beaches at Port Fourchon
and building a floating decontamination area, where oil from the spill can be cleaned
off incoming ships before they enter the port. Port Fourchon handles 18 percent of
the shipping traffic associated with domestic oil production in the US, some ships
traveling 50 miles up Bayou Lafourche to Lockport, La.

Its vibrant fishing community is worried about contamination in inland waterways. "If
you drive Highway 1 up to Lockport, you'll see fisherman lining the bayou the whole
way," said Brennan Matherne, public information officer for the parish. "There're
thousands of people here who make their living off oysters, shrimp, and fish. Oil
going up the bayou wouldn't be good for any of us."