Oil sheen and tarballs found on Lake Pontchartrain

HOUMA, La. – Oil observers reported sheen and tar balls in the Rigolets and Lake Pontchartrain this morning to the Slidell Forward Operating Base of the Deepwater Horizon Response.

Response crews placed a combined 600-feet of hard and soft boom at a natural choke point in the Rigolets to prevent more oil from getting through to Lake Pontchartrain.

Nineteen manual skimming vessels and four decontamination vessels based out of Orleans and St. Tammany were dispatched to the reported oiled areas. Cleanup operations were conducted throughout the day both up and down stream of the choke point.

As of 7:30 p.m. cleanup crews have collected 1,020 pounds of tar balls and waste. Collected oil is being tested to determine if from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead.

Cleanup operations are scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.


If you have any problems viewing this article, please report it here.