The Gulf Oil Spill Information Portal

HOPEDALE, La. - Eric Guzman carries himself like any healthy 35-year-old, but his eyes tell you he's been through what only someone much older would normally have experienced.
Guzman is captain of a Bayou shrimp boat that he takes out now only on weekends. During the week he is a union electrician at the Folger's coffee plant here. He has also worked for Lazy Boy Seafood, an outfit that buys shrimp right off the boats.
"I'm glad I have this job," he said, when our reporters caught up with him during a break outside his plant gate. "You can't support a family without a good job, and now, after the oil spill, the shrimp and oyster businesses are hurting."
Guzman, like many of the fishermen in Louisiana, started out on the water as a kid and, like many others, when they got older, fished a big part of the year and worked in the building trades the rest of the year. He is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 130.
He says he looks forward to the weekends when he can get out on his boat, the Captain Rusty. "I've been doing it since I was 12 years old," he said.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, destroying everything he and thousands of other families had, he went to Portland, Ore., where he could continue his apprenticeship as an electrical worker.
"I didn't want to drop that," he said, "because when you get through a union apprenticeship program you have top-notch skills that you can be proud of and that you can use for the rest of your life."
But he came back to Hopedale where, together with his wife, he re-started a life "in the place that me and all my friends and family love so much."
The BP oil spill intruded on that process a little over a year ago, and Guzman had to switch from shrimper to clean-up captain for the oil giant, skimming the oil off the waters of the Gulf. He and a crew of three worked a boat that belonged to someone else. They laid booms and skimmed the oil from the surface of the water.
"BP likes for people to think that the skimming got rid of all the oil," he said. "They don't want you to think about how most of the oil went down to the bottom. We were dead set against them using those dispersants but they didn't listen and they did it anyway." He recalled the "lack of concern they had for us out there doing the dirty work on the Gulf. No one knows how we've been affected by breathing in those vapors. People don't realize that they sent planes out over the Gulf spraying dispersants, not caring about whether those of us down in the boats were getting hit."
Guzman said the shrimp business has been hurt because, even though there are shrimp that have not been contaminated by the oil, people are afraid to take the chance on buying them. Prices have dropped, despite the smaller supplies, and people are going out of business.
A bait shop operated by a shrimp boat captain interviewed by the People's World right after the spill is going out of business.
The oyster farmers, Guzman said, are really suffering. "Only now are we seeing a few signs that oysters might come back," he said. He said the oyster business was hurt by the BP spill even in areas where the water was not actually poisoned. He explained how fresh water from the Mississippi was allowed to flow into the marshes to create an outflow to keep the advancing oil offshore. "The fresh water killed a lot of life forms that require salinity to survive," he said, "including the oysters."
The recent floods in the Midwest contributed to the destruction of the oyster beds also because river water had to be diverted again into the marshes to avoid flooding downstream in New Orleans. "Just as some things were coming back, there was a new setback," he said. "As a result of those Midwest floods we actually lost oyster beds to the west, even ones that had survived the BP spill."
Guzman said he was angry with BP because "even today they have not really made people whole for their losses. Some got back percentages of their losses and some have gotten nothing."
"I see crabs with sores on the bottom of them that are not supposed to be there. I see turtles and porpoises washing up on the beech and I wonder why. I worry about the long-term effects of those vapors, but I will never give up shrimping and crabbing" said Guzman. "It's in my blood."
Photo: Brad and Johnny Held, Louisiana IBEW members out crabbing in the Gulf recently. Blake Deppe/PW

Floodwaters marked with spills

2011-06-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

Floodwaters marked with spills | The Advertiser | theadvertiser.com

Audubon: House Gulf Caucus Moves to Secure Gulf Restoration - Offshore Oil Drilling

2011-06-09T12:45:00.000-05:00

Audubon: House Gulf Caucus Moves to Secure Gulf Restoration - Offshore Oil Drilling

YouTube - Coast To Coast AM - 26.5.2011 - 2/4 - Contamination, Fish Deaths, & Alien Abduction

2011-05-29T23:30:00.000-05:00

YouTube - Coast To Coast AM - 26.5.2011 - 2/4 - Contamination, Fish Deaths, & Alien Abduction

2011-05-06T13:30:00.002-05:00

Gulf Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Creates Citizens’ Advisory Committee, Releases Restoration Priorities EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, joined by CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, other task force members, hold official meeting today in Mobile, Ala.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson convened an official meeting of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force today in Mobile, Alabama. During the meeting, the task force created a citizens’ advisory committee to help guide the group’s efforts and released a strategy background document outlining the priorities of the ongoing gulf restoration. The meeting in Alabama furthered the task force’s ongoing commitment to supporting the conservation and restoration of resilient and healthy ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jackson proposed to establish and support a 25-member Gulf of Mexico Citizen Advisory Committee during the meeting, acknowledging the need to ensure residents and local organizations have a formal process to offer input and guidance on the work of the task force and to voice environmental concerns. The newly formed committee will hold its first official meeting later this summer.

“Since President Obama first formed this task force, our focus has been on collecting the ideas and input of gulf residents,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. “We’ve made clear that restoration plans should come from the gulf to Washington, and we’re counting on the people who know these areas best to shape our work through public meetings like this one, through the Citizens’ Advisory Committee and other efforts.”

During the meeting, the task force also identified four key priorities for the ongoing restoration of the gulf, including enhancing community resilience, restoring and conserving habitat, restoring water quality, and replenishing and protecting living coastal and marine resources. The priorities were developed based upon input from the general public and key stakeholder groups throughout the region. The task force plans for the priorities to serve as the main restorations goals and will identify specific actions to help to achieve these goals.

The Mobile meeting was the latest in a series of meetings that the task force is holding throughout the five gulf states. Previous meetings were held in New Orleans and Pensacola. President Obama issued an executive order in October to create the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, continuing the administration’s ongoing commitment to the gulf region. The task force works to integrate federal restoration efforts with those of local stakeholders and state and tribal governments, and to facilitate accountability and support throughout the restoration process.

More information on the task force: http://www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce

La. seeks larger share than other Gulf states of eventual oil spill liability reward

2011-05-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

BATON ROUGE, La. — State officials say Louisiana was hurt more than other states by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and so should get more money than other states from companies responsible for the disaster.

Garret Graves, who leads the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, told state lawmakers Wednesday that the state opposes such funds going to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, given that 60-90 percent of the oil spills impacts have occurred on coastal Louisiana.

"This would be the federal government literally profiting from the injury that was experienced in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast," Graves said.

Rep. Joe Harrison, a Republican from Houma, agreed.

"We incurred the majority of the damage by far," he said. "And that's why I would hope that, and I know that our Congressional delegation and also the governor and the executive committees that are involved would present the type of information that supports our position to get the largest portion of that potential fine to assist us in what I think is going to be something we're going to deal with for years to come."

Graves said that recommendations in reports by Navy Sec. Ray Mabus and the National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, established by President Barack Obama, as well as legislation by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., would divert up to 80 percent of fines to the coastal states.

But Graves said there is well-established precedent for a second alternative: directly negotiating a settlement between local authorities and responsible parties.

In that case, up to 80 percent of fines would be spent on supplemental environmental projects to restore the environment, coast and fisheries. Graves has asked federal authorities to begin negotiations for such a settlement.

He said Louisiana would fare better by negotiating a settlement with federal agencies rather than reaching a political solution in Congress.

"One of the challenges in going through Congress is that Sen. Landrieu, Sen. Vitter, our House delegation will have to negotiate with the delegations from those other states," Graves said. "Texas has a large delegation. Florida has a large delegation."

He said a Congressional solution would also require a budget offset from the diversion to the states, which he said would be very difficult in this budget climate.

Negotiating with the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and responsible parties directly "would be a better venue for Louisiana to negotiate based on true impacts and merit, versus based upon political considerations and who has a larger delegation."

Graves says federal liability may rise to $70 billion across the responsible parties.

2011-05-05T11:35:00.001-05:00

This handout photo shows some of the spill area where about 28,000 barrels of oil leaked out of a pipeline near Peace River. The pipeline is owned by Plains All American Pipeline. (Plains All American American Pipeline photo)

Natives say spill making kids sick

EDMONTON - More than 28,000 barrels of leaked crude oil near Peace River is making residents in the area sick, says a First Nations chief.
Steve Noskey, Chief of the Lubicon Cree Nation, says his town of about 300 people is being enveloped by a sickening odour he believes is coming from the spill, the biggest in the province since 1975.
"When the wind shifts, the odours are carried into the community," says Noskey.
The Lubicon Cree Nation is located about 10 km east of the Plains Midstream Canada pipeline leak.
The Little Buffalo school has been closed since Friday, after students became ill with nausea, burning eyes and headaches.
Environment Minister Rob Renner says he only recently became aware that residents in the town were affected.
"We immediately installed air monitoring equipment that was on site, and I'm advised our mobile unit has additional capacity for more minute forms of air quality (and) is on route and should arrive later today," said Renner Wednesday.
He can't say for sure if the odour that's believe to be making residents sick was in fact coming from the spill, but Noskey disagrees.
"I challenge anyone from Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), Plains or even the minister to come up to our community and have a smell for themselves," he says.
The K-12 school services about 130 students and was still closed as of Wednesday.
Noskey says he has not heard from the government or the ERCB, and isn't confident they'll do much to help his small town.
"I never do expect anything from the provincial government with respect for the native issues. We're an aboriginal community and that's all we are," says Noskey.
The Plains pipeline is nearly half a century old and has had minor leaks in the past.
Despite the major spill, Renner says Alberta still has a good record compared to how many pipelines there are in the province.
"Our safety record is one that we should be proud of. Sure there are incidences from time to time but I would put our record up against any others," says Renner.
NDP environment critic Rachel Notley and Liberal environment critic Laurie Blakeman both feel the spill is merely another example of an un-watchful government eye.
"It's more indication that Albertans cannot trust this government to protect the health safety and environment of Albertans," says Notley.
Blakeman goes further, saying, "This kind of an oil spill is what really frightens people about transporting oil across land or across water because this is the nightmare scenario."
Renner decided not to venture out to the spill site or the Lubicon First Nation, saying he would not have "any significant added value" if he did.
tanara.mclean@sunmedia.ca

Is oil spill responsible for illness?

Abby Tabor/Staff

Buy photo

Dr. Mike Robichaux talks to his patient Brandon Casanova at Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital in Raceland.

By Kathrine Schmidt
Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 12:06 a.m.

RACELAND — Lying in a local hospital bed this week, Brandon Casanova still can’t figure out how he got there.

Defendant in Racketeering Suit Works as U.S. Consultant on Gulf Spill - NYTimes.com

2011-04-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Defendant in Racketeering Suit Works as U.S. Consultant on Gulf Spill - NYTimes.com

The outage today occurred about 6 a.m at the BP chemical plant

2011-04-27T13:26:00.002-05:00

Ref.no.: PW-20110426-30476-USA

Situation Update No. 2
On 2011-04-27 at 17:58:46 [UTC]

Event: Power Outage
Location: USA State of Texas BP, Marathon, Valero Texas plants Texas City
Situation: A day after power failed at several refineries in Texas City, a chemical plant in the city lost electricity this morning, officials said. The outage today occurred about 6 a.m at the BP chemical plant, said Bruce Clawson, director of Texas City Emergency Management. Clawson said power was restored at the plant about two and half hours later. No shelter-in-place orders were issued during the outage, and no injuries were reported, Clawson added. BP officials could not be reached for comment. Clawson said he did not know what caused the power failure. However, he added, no explosion or fire was reported. The outage occurred about the same time a power failure hit portions of Galveston Island. About 12,000 customers reportedly lost power beginning at about 5:30 a.m., according to CenterPoint Energy. Crews were working to restore power several hours later. Today's power failures come on the heels of outages at several refineries in Texas City Tuesday. Power was lost at the BP, Valero and Marathon refineries for several hours. Utility officials have said salty residue build-up on wires and power equipment is to blame for the power losses in Galveston and Tuesday in Texas City.

BP anniversary: Toxicity, suffering and death - Features - Al Jazeera English

2011-04-20T14:41:00.000-05:00

BP anniversary: Toxicity, suffering and death - Features - Al Jazeera English

THE BEST >>> BP's criminal negligence exposed - Features - Al Jazeera English

2011-04-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

BP's criminal negligence exposed - Features - Al Jazeera English

Please email your members of Congress today.

2011-04-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Urge Your Members of Congress to Get Serious About Gulf Coast Restoration

One year after the BP oil blowout, Congress still has not passed legislation to direct BP's Clean Water Act penalties to restore the Gulf Coast and help the people, ecosystem, and economies harmed by the disaster.
Without Congressional action, these funds will simply end up in the Treasury, and the federal government will profit at the expense of Gulf Coast residents and wildlife who need support.
It's time to get serious about Gulf Coast restoration, and we need your help to make sure the BP fines are directed where they're needed most: to the Gulf Coast.
Please email your members of Congress today.

click here to take action

Just released: 30k pages of BP oil spill documents. Help us find out what we've got! | Inspiring action for a green and peaceful future

2011-04-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Just released: 30k pages of BP oil spill documents. Help us find out what we've got! | Inspiring action for a green and peaceful future

2011-04-20T10:34:00.001-05:00

Deepwater Horizon victims' families

mark first anniversary of oil spill

Relatives of the 11 workers killed when BP's rig burst into flames overfly the site by helicopter while oil still washes up on beaches

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 April 2011 15.13 BST
Article history

Deepwater Horizon: a protest performance called Human Cost took place at Tate Britain in London on the first anniversary of the oil spill. Photograph: Jeff Blackler/Rex Features

Relatives of some of the 11 men who died aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are to fly over the Gulf of Mexico to mark the first anniversary of the worst offshore oil spill in US history.
On land, vigils were scheduled in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to mark the moment on the night of 20 April last year when the rig, owned by Transocean Ltd, burst into flames while drilling a well for BP.
The explosion killed 11 workers on or near the drilling floor and the rest of the crew were evacuated before, two days later, the rig sank to the seabed. The bodies of the dead were never recovered.
Over the next 85 days, 206m gallons (5m barrels) of oil – almost 20 times more than was spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster – leaked from the well. In response, the US commandeered a fleet of vessels in an effort to contain the spill, and BP spent billions of dollars to cap the well and clean up.
"I can't believe tomorrow has been one year, because it seems like everything just happened," Courtney Kemp, whose husband Roy Wyatt Kemp was killed on the rig, wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday. "I have learned a lot of things through all of this but the most important is to live each day as if it were your last … what matters is if you truly live."
In a statement, President Barack Obama paid tribute to those killed in the blast and thanked the thousands of workers and volunteers who "worked tirelessly to mitigate the worst impacts" of the spill.
"But we also keep a watchful eye on the continuing and important work required to ensure that the Gulf coast recovers stronger than before," Obama said in the statement.
Transocean invited up to three members of each family to attend the flyover. They were expected to circle the site a few times in a helicopter, though there is no visible marker identifying where their loved ones perished. On the seabed 11 stars were imprinted on the cap of the well.
While ceremonies mark the disaster, oil is still occasionally washed up on beaches in the form of tar balls, and fishermen face an uncertain future.
Louis and Audrey Neal of Pass Christian, Mississippi, who make their living from crabbing, said it had got so bad since the spill that they face foreclosure as the bills keep piling up.
"I don't see any daylight at the end of this tunnel. I don't see any hope at all. We thought we'd see hope after a year, but there's nothing," Audrey Neal said, adding that financial difficulties were only part of the problem. "Our lives are forever changed," she said. "Our marriage, our children, it's all gotten 100% worse."
She said the couple received a $53,000 (£32,000) payment from BP early in the crisis, but that was just enough money to cover three months of debt. They have as yet received nothing from the $20bn compensation fund set up by BP, they said.
The outlook is, however, not all bleak. Traffic jams on the narrow coastal roads of Alabama, crowded seafood restaurants in Florida and families taking their holidays along the Louisiana coast attest to the fact that familiar routines are returning, albeit slowly.
"We used to fuss about that," said Ike Williams, referring to the heavy traffic heading towards Gulf Shores, Alabama, where he rents chairs and umbrellas to beachgoers. "But it was such a welcome sight."
"It seems like it is all gone," said Tyler Priest, an oil historian at the University of Houston. "People have turned their attention elsewhere. But it will play out like Exxon Valdez did. There will be 20 years of litigation."
Most scientists agree the effects "were not as severe as many had predicted", said Christopher D'Elia, dean at the school of the coast and environment at Louisiana State University. "People had said this was an ecological Armageddon, and that did not come to pass."
Biologists, however, are concerned about the spill's long-term effect on marine life.
"There are these cascading effects," D'Elia said. "It could be accumulation of toxins in the foodchain, or changes in the food web. Some species might dominate."
Accumulated oil is believed to lie on the Gulf seabed, and it still shows up as a thick black crust along miles of Louisiana's marshy shoreline. Scientists have begun to notice that the land in many places is eroding.
Confidence in Louisiana's seafood is eroding, too. "Where I'm fishing it all looks pretty much the same," said Glen Swift, a 62-year-old fisherman in Buras who works the lower Mississippi river again. But he cannot sell his fish. "The market's no good," he said.
But the BP spill has faded from the headlines, overtaken by the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, unrest in the Middle East and political clashes in Washington.
"Nationally, BP seems like a dim and distant memory," said Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University historian. But the accident will have long-lasting influence on environmental history, he said.

The Gulf Oil Spill Information Portal

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Floodwaters marked with spills

Audubon: House Gulf Caucus Moves to Secure Gulf Restoration - Offshore Oil Drilling

YouTube - Coast To Coast AM - 26.5.2011 - 2/4 - Contamination, Fish Deaths, & Alien Abduction

La. seeks larger share than other Gulf states of eventual oil spill liability reward

More Questions Than Answers on Dispersants a Year After Gulf Spill - NYTimes.com

Is oil spill responsible for illness?

Defendant in Racketeering Suit Works as U.S. Consultant on Gulf Spill - NYTimes.com

The outage today occurred about 6 a.m at the BP chemical plant

BP anniversary: Toxicity, suffering and death - Features - Al Jazeera English

THE BEST >>> BP's criminal negligence exposed - Features - Al Jazeera English

Please email your members of Congress today.

Urge Your Members of Congress to Get Serious About Gulf Coast Restoration

Just released: 30k pages of BP oil spill documents. Help us find out what we've got! | Inspiring action for a green and peaceful future

Deepwater Horizon victims' families

mark first anniversary of oil spill