NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, April 7, 2010 (ENS)
An 18,000 gallon spill of crude oil from a pipeline into the Delta National Wildlife
Refuge has personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, the state of Louisiana, and the
Cypress Pipe Line Company scrambling to contain the spreading mess.
The incident was first reported to the Coast Guard early Tuesday morning. At that time,
Berry Brothers General Contractors were conducting dredging operations for
ExxonMobil in the area of the spill. They notified the Coast Guard that oil was spilling
into a canal located 10 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana.
An area of about 160 square miles has been affected by
the spill - 16 square miles of wetlands in the 76
square-mile Delta National Wildlife Refuge and 120
square miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 50 people and 16 vessels now are at the
scene conducting and managing cleanup operations and
environmental protection efforts, which include recovery
of the oil and attempting to keep wildlife out of the
impacted area.
So far, there are no reports of any birds or animals impacted in the incident.
Environmentalists warn that the incident casts doubt on more offshore drilling. "This
is just more evidence that the oil and gas industry don't have the proper safety
standards in place," said Casey DeMoss Roberts of the New Orleans group of the
Sierra Club. "The President claims drilling is safer than ever but our state is the
cautionary tale."