LAFOURCHE PARISH, La. — Cleanup is underway for the worst oil spill Bayou Lafourche has ever seen.
The sheriff’s office reports that 820 barrels (34,440 gallons) of oil were released to the facility ground as well as to Bayou Lafourche. The spill happened on Saturday morning from a nearby refinery. The site of the spill is big and stretches from about the Highway 182 Bridge to the Highway 90 Bridge, which is the entire length of Raceland.
Officials confirmed during a press conference that the spill was crude oil.
The company and the parish said they've been monitoring the air and drinking water near the site. Officials said the air and water are both safe so far, but they are asking residents to conserve water in case they end up issuing restrictions.
"I can confirm that it is crude oil," said Michael Smith, PIO for Crescent Midstream. "And that it did come from the Crescent Midstream facility."
Smith said there has been some speculation about how the spill happened. The amount of oil that spilled is unknown at this time.
"We are actively investigating that internally about how that crude oil was allowed to escape our facility."
Earlier Saturday, the spill was spotted in Raceland. At the time it was unclear what the contamination could have been or its impact on the environment or wildlife.
“We are aware of the spill in Bayou Lafourche south of LA 182 in Raceland. All the agencies have been notified and crews are mobilizing to begin to capture what’s in the water. At this time drinking is not affected. Further updates will be posted as needed,” the sheriff's office said in a social media post.
Officials said boat traffic is being restricted on Bayou Lafourche and the parish doesn't have an estimate of when it could reopen.
The following updates were provided from the parish's Unified Command group at 4 p.m.
- No injuries have been reported.
- An estimated total volume released from the system based on engineering calculations, along with on-scene assessments has been calculated to be a total of 820 barrels (34,440 gallons). This volume equates to the amount of oil released to the facility ground as well as to Bayou Lafourche.
- Clean-up operations are focused not only on-water in Bayou Lafourche, but also within the facility within the containment area and drainage systems.
- The following assets have been deployed as of 10:00 a.m. CDT this morning in and near Bayou Lafourche:
- 117 workers on location
- 28 total vessels including 5 Marco skimmers, 2 barge boats, 15 response vessels, and 6 jon boats
- 7 vacuum trucks
- 11 Drum skimmer packages
- 13 Wash pump packages
- 6,800’ feet of boom deployed
- Additional equipment is continuing to be deployed
- Total wildlife impacted reported remains the same, with 17 aquatic salamanders, 2 turtles, and 1 crawfish. Four ducks and three alligators have been observed to be oiled; however, none were able to be captured. Wildlife crews are continuing to survey the impacted area, looking for any distressed wildlife.
- The public is urged to report any oiled wildlife observed in the area to (832) 514-9663. Residents are advised to avoid trying to capture any oiled wildlife. Report the location and description of the impacted wildlife to the published number and trained wildlife personnel will be deployed to investigate and capture any wildlife that may be necessary.
- Air monitoring has been continuously conducted on both sides of the bayou in the affected area and will continue throughout the duration of the event. Results have been well below actionable levels. Air monitoring will continue out of an abundance of caution.
- Public water continues to be safe to drink. An advisory to conserve water has been issued by Lafourche Parish Water District No. 1 out of an abundance of caution. This advisory covers customers south of the La. Hwy. 182 bridge in Lafourche Parish.
- Parish President Archie Chaisson issued an Emergency Declaration Order on Sunday, which allows additional resources to be deployed in support of the incident.
- Clean-up operations were paused overnight due to safety concerns for workers. However, operations were commenced again this morning. Workers and their equipment are being staged at the Lafourche Parish Visitor’s Center under the Highway 90 overpass in Raceland.
- The right north bound lane of LA Hwy 1 remains closed as you approach Hwy 90 due to equipment being staged to aid in the clean-up effort. Motorists are advised to use caution in this area.
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented a No-Fly Zone from LA Hwy 182 to LA Hwy 654, one mile in either direction of Bayou Lafourche due to the ongoing oil spill incident. This restriction is mainly to control UAS flights during clean-up operations. Unified Command is utilizing drone overflights and periodic helicopter flights for assessing impacted areas. The No-fly Zone was put into place to keep responders and the public safe.
- Inquiries have been received as to the use of dispersants. Dispersants are NOT being utilized in this incident, as dispersants are not approved by the EPA for use in the inland environment.
- Clean-up operations in the bayou currently consists of containment booming, skimming, and water flushing operations. Flushing operations are being conducted by utilizing water pumped from the bayou via pump and hose and flushing oil from the vegetation into the containment boom so that it can be recovered by skimmers and collected for disposal.
- Residents affected and wanting to report personal or property damages because of this incident can call 833-812-0877.
- We thank the community for its offers of volunteer support. At this time, volunteers are not needed.
- As the clean-up progresses, a better timeline will be developed on when the bayou will be reopened to the public.
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