LAFOURCHE PARISH, La. — People who live along Bayou Lafourche in Raceland report slow, steady progress as environmental clean-up crews continue to mop up an oily mess on the water.
James Morgan says conditions have gotten a lot better since Saturday. That’s when about 34,000 gallons of oil escaped from a storage tank at the nearby Crescent Midstream facility.
Morgan admits the spill has caused some problems for him and his neighbors.
“Just the smell and stuff,” Morgan said. “Can’t fish, I couldn’t fish. That stuff would get all over your bait and hooks.”
Friday, local leaders took a boat tour of the impacted areas.
The spill left a miles-long oil slick on the bayou from Raceland to Lockport.
There is still a noticeable sheen on the water with some clumps of oil in the absorbent boom stretching across the bayou.
Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson was impressed with the clean-up, so far.
“I will say the amount of oil left in the bayou is minimal,” Chaisson said. “A lot of what you’re seeing now is the oil that’s left in the vegetation. It’s going to have to work its way out through flushing operations and through Mother Nature, right.”
Crescent Midstream Spokesman Mike Smith said “operator error” was a contributing cause of the spill.
“Our preliminary findings are that there was a valve left open inside the facility and that crude oil was allowed to escape in that way,” Smith said.
Crews continue the cleanup on the bayou and in the drainage ditch where the oil first appeared.
The spill is blamed for the death of some aquatic wildlife including salamanders, turtles, and crawfish.
There were also some oiled ducks and one alligator.
“The amount of progress that workers have made is outstanding having said that there is much left to do,” Smith said.
“The maintenance operations are going to be here for a while and I’m happy about that,” Chaisson said.
“You know they’ll clean it up, but they’ll never get it all,” Morgan said.
The onsite unified command that was set up to oversee the cleanup is now expected to stand down and go virtual by the close of business on Friday. Local officials see that as a sign of progress on the water.
Air monitoring continues throughout the affected area of Bayou Lafourche.
That includes additional proactive monitoring near Central Lafourche High School.
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