Storm scatters tar balls buried since BP spill

06.09.2012 08:18    Comments: 0    Categories: Human Interest      Tags: hurricane issac tar balls oil spill bp  

Hurricane Isaac‘s wind dailycomet/Hurricane Issac's wind and waves unearthed oil buried since the 2010 BP oil spill and scattered tar balls along Grand Isle, Elmer’s Island and Fourchon Beach.

The uncovered oil illustrates the need for continued cleanup and long-term monitoring along Louisiana’s coast, state officials said.

The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issued an emergency closure of coastal beaches and waters from Belle Pass at Fourchon to Caminada Pass near Grand Isle because of oil. The area is closed to commercial fishing though remains open to recreational and charter fishing with a rod and reel.

Oil washed up on beaches that were heavily impacted by the oil spill. These beaches have been regularly plagued by tar balls washing up from large mats of oil buried in the shore that was left behind during the cleanup, local officials said.

Six tar mats were uncovered on Elmer’s Island during the storm. Oil was also reported on Grand Isle, Grand Terre, in Bay Jimmy, and Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes, said Garret Graves, state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chairman.

Last year the Coast Guard announced the Gulf Coast would shift to a Shoreline Cleanup Completion Plan, which would lay out the process for determining how formerly oiled areas can be declared clean.

Federal officials and all Gulf states signed onto the plan except Louisiana. State officials said it leaves Louisiana’s vulnerable beaches and marshes open to continued oiling and doesn’t hold BP accountable for long-term monitoring and cleanup of oiled shores.

Graves said Isaac demonstrated the problems that still remain in Louisiana after the spill.