United States officials on Wednesday ordered oil giant BP to pay for five more sand barriers in the Mississippi Delta to keep oil from the gushing Deepwater Horizon well from reaching Louisiana’s fragile wetlands.
Coast Guard official Thad Allen said the project should help minimise potential damage to the vulnerable shorelines.
“I have directed BP to pay for five additional barrier island projects in addition to the one I approved last week as part of our continuing commitment to do everything possible to protect our vital coastal communities from BP’s leaking oil,” Allen said.
‘Major damage’
“Based on a thorough expert analysis, we believe that these six total projects, which will be constructed expeditiously in the areas most at risk for long-term impact by oil, will effectively stem potential damage to these fragile shorelines.”
Allen said he reiterated to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal that “this administration will hold BP responsible for providing full payment for any strategy that will protect our valuable coastal communities from the impacts of their catastrophe.”
Late last month, Allen approved plans to build the first 1,82 metre high sand berm at Scofield Island, around 16 kilometres southwest of the port of Venice.
Local officials, including Jindal, have been almost begging for permission to start building the berms by dredging sediment from designated areas in the Mississippi Delta and dumping it to make man-made barrier islands.
Some environmentalists have issues with berms, fearing the solution officials are proposing to hold back the oil from Louisiana’s unique marshlands, if not done right, could do more harm than good to the Mississippi Delta, and might not do the job at all.
‘Worst in US history’
The six-week-old spill, now the worst in US history, began with an April 20 explosion that ripped through the Deepwater Horizon rig, 80 kilometres off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers.
More than 200 kilometres of Louisiana’s coast has been contaminated, triggering long-term fears for the region’s already endangered wildlife. — AFP