NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard and other agencies are coordinating efforts to investigate and clean up an oil spill found in the marsh near Port Sulfur High School on Oct. 23, 2009.
Coast Guard Station Venice received a call from a mariner Friday reporting an oil spill approximately three blocks from Port Sulfur High School. A pollution investigation team from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans responded and discovered approximately 200 gallons of crude oil stretching along approximately 3,000 feet of shoreline. The spill occurred when high tides caused oil to discharge from a hole in an abandoned wellhead.
An abandoned wells representative from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will be on scene Monday to assess the wellhead, and to make plans to secure the hole. The Coast Guard and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources are overseeing the clean-up of crude oil from the shoreline. Oil Mop, LLC has been hired to conduct the clean up and is encircling the wellhead with absorbent materials and 3,000 feet of containment boom.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and Louisiana Office of Conservation are also assisting in the response.
