courtesy of Lafourche Parish Government
Cleanup efforts are underway after a large oil spill in Bayou Lafourche Saturday. The spill was traced to a leaking fuel tank and valve failure at the Crescent Midstream pumping station in Raceland. Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson said response has been immediate and effective.
“We have over 100 personnel and two dozen boats with the company’s assets on the ground actively cleaning this. We’ve deployed some 5,000 feet of boom as of now. The main source of capture has been contained.”
Public water sourced from the bayou is safe to drink while residents are still advised to conserve water out of an abundance of caution. Chaisson said containment efforts were focused around water intakes, secondary precautions are in place within the plant, and the Louisiana Department of Health is on-site for additional sampling.
“We’ve had zero impacts to the water plant. Our water intakes are some five to six feet below the surface of the water, so as stuff shifts across, it’s not a huge huge issue.”
17 aquatic salamanders, two turtles, and one crawfish were found dead because of the spill. Officials are searching for three alligators and four ducks covered with oil. Chaisson says most of the deceased wildlife was found in the stormwater drainage ditch before the leak entered the bayou…
“All of the wildlife’s being brought to a facility in Houma where they’ll be staged and either cleaned up and returned to the wild, or if they’re unfortunately deceased, we’ll deal with those with the experts after the fact.”
Residents can report oiled wildlife to (832) 514-9663 and are advised not to try to capture or treat oiled wildlife themselves.
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