Louisiana - About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac

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LDWF Closes a Portion of Coastal Waters Due to the Emergence of Oil on Adjacent Beaches



(Sept. 4, 2012) ? Effective immediately, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham announced an emergency closure of a portion of coastal waters due to the emergence of a large tar mat and concentrations of tar balls on adjacent beaches. This action is taken in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, who will assist with the investigation to determine the extent, source, and impacts of the oil in the environment.

The area affected by this emergency closure includes the portion of state outside waters seaward a distance of one mile from the shoreline from the eastern shore of Belle Pass at 90 degrees 13 minutes 30 seconds west longitude eastward to the western shore of Caminada Pass at 90 degrees 02 minutes 46.6 seconds west longitude.

All commercial and recreational fishing is prohibited within these waters except for recreational and charter boat angling. The harvest of live bait by wholesale/retail seafood dealers who hold a special bait dealers permit and who harvest live bait for sale to recreational fishermen exclusively is also permitted.

In addition to this closure, certain areas are still closed to recreational and commercial fishing due to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Maps of the areas still closed to recreational and commercial fishing are posted on the LDWF website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/oilspill.

For press inquires, contact Ashley Wethey at awethey@wlf.la.gov or (225) 765-2396.

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/news/35907

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Re: Louisiana - LDWF Closes a Portion of Coastal Waters Due to the Emergence of Oil on Adjacent Beaches

La. officials close 12 miles of coastline after Isaac washes up tar balls, oil from BP spill hotspot

Published: Tuesday, September 04, 2012, 4:10 PM Updated: Tuesday, September 04, 2012, 7:28 PM

...Robert Barham, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said agency crews surveying damage from Isaac discovered large sections of viscous oil and tar balls floating along the coast from the beach to one mile offshore between Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge, just west of Grand Isle, to Pass Fourchon. ..

"It's a very large mass that is viscous but hasn't coalesced into tar mats yet," Barham said. "But the Elmer's Island beaches are littered with tar balls of every size, from eraser size to the size of baseballs."

Samples will be analyzed by the LDWF and the state Department of Environmental Quality to determine if it originated from the Deepwater Horizon, Barham said.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, BP said it was too early to tell if the oil was from the Deepwater Horizon spill. "With many of the southern parishes of Louisiana still inundated with flood waters and not accessible at this time, it is premature to make any claims about possible oiling there -- whether it is from the Deepwater Horizon accident or any other source. We are awaiting test results on residual oil reported in an area west of Grand Isle, Louisiana. As state officials have made clear, it is important to fingerprint the residual oil to determine its origin. If any of it is connected to the Deepwater Horizon accident, BP stands ready to remove it under the direction of the Coast Guard's federal on-scene coordinator.
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While the most toxic parts of raw oil quickly dissipate, the tar mats, tar balls and viscous sludge that reappear after storms remain a threat to fish, wildlife and humans, state authorities said. They can contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known carcinogens that can also disrupt endocrine systems in both humans and wildlife.
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Full text:

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/09/la_officials_close_12_miles_of.html

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Re: Louisiana - LDWF Closes a Portion of Coastal Waters Due to the Emergence of Oil on Adjacent Beaches

BP says old oil from spill exposed by Isaac

Published September 05, 2012
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS ? BP PLC says some oil from its massive offshore 2010 spill along the Louisiana coast was exposed after Hurricane Isaac's scouring waves exposed deposits of buried tar.

Louisiana officials closed a stretch of beach near Fourchon on Tuesday after scouts said they found large tar mats. BP acknowledged Wednesday the oil was from its spill.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/05...#ixzz25dDmasR6

[Emily]

Re: Louisiana - LDWF Closes a Portion of Coastal Waters Due to the Emergence of Oil on Adjacent Beaches

http://www.wwltv.com/home/BPs-propos...170563676.html

BP's proposal to clean beaches after Isaac a concern to some


wwltv.com

Posted on September 20, 2012 at 3:34 PM

Updated Thursday, Sep 20 at 3:34 PM

Nikki Buskey / Houma Courier

Local officials are raising concerns over a BP proposal to deep clean beaches across south Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac unearthed buried oil.

State and local officials who are objecting to the proposal said it could worsen erosion on Louisiana's beaches and kill ecosystems of microbes that live in the sand.
[snip]
She said parish government officials were recently told of a new tar mat discovered on Fourchon measuring 25 feet by 20 feet in size, that could be up to 18 inches thick.

"This points to the fact that two years later, something still lingers out there," she said. "We've been pressing the Coast Guard and BP to do some kind of investigation."...

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Re: Louisiana - About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac

About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac

Updated: Thursday, October 18, 2012, 11:05 AM
By Jeff Adelson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from the Deepwater Horizon spill was brought to the surface by Hurricane Isaac, more than had been collected in eight months before the storm, the state's coastal protection agency said Wednesday. The post-storm figures were announced as members of the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority sharply criticized continuing clean-up efforts by BP and the U.S. Coast Guard and called for more resources to deal with oil that is still below the surface of the gulf, an amount believed to be equal to about 1 million barrels.

The amount of oil churned up in the month after the storm served as a springboard for members of the authority to voice open frustration with on-going issues caused by the April 2010 spill, including reports of poor shrimp harvests near Grand Isle, health impacts from the cleanup and a slow response when oil is spotted.
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The amount of material, including tar mats and tar balls, that was collected in the month after the storm is about 120,000 pounds more than had been found since January, according to the authority. And in many cases, getting the new sightings taken care of has been slowed by the process put in place to clean them up.
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Full text

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/10/about_565000_lbs_of_oiled_mate.html