Salon.com > Cain Burdeau

Ranchers cope with herd losses from Isaac’s floods

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:30:00 +0000

CITRUS LANDS, La. (AP) — In August, ranchlands spreading across the boot of Louisiana were dotted with hundreds of cows and calves grazing on a smorgasbord of marsh grasses.

But Hurricane Isaac took all that away, turning some of the best grazing land in Louisiana's low country into miles of brackish and foul-smelling floodwaters. A lot of the livestock raised there by a handful of ranching families drowned in Isaac's storm surge along with other wildlife. The storm overwhelmed weak levees protecting farm country south of New Orleans.

South Louisiana's cattle industry consists mostly of pockets of ranchers along the coast, including Plaquemines Parish. But at least 400 cattle perished in Isaac, and ranchers in the Mississippi River Delta now are pondering whether they can continue a tradition that's more than 200 years old.

Isaac steers clear of direct blow on New Orleans

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:15:00 +0000

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Isaac's whistling winds lashed this city and the storm dumped nearly a foot of rain on its darkened and desolate streets, but the system of levee pumps, walls and gates appeared to withstand one of the stiffest challenges yet. To the north and south, though, people had to be evacuated or rescued as Isaac lingered over Louisiana.

The rain fell almost constantly for more than a day, flooding neighborhoods in a rural part of the state and as far away as Mississippi. Officials had to respond quickly because the waters were rising fast — even as Isaac meandered slowly northward Thursday on a path toward Arkansas.

President Barack Obama declared federal emergencies in Louisiana and Mississippi late Wednesday, according to a statement from the White House. The disaster declarations free up federal aid for affected areas.

Along the shores of Lake Ponchartrain, officials sent scores of buses and dozens of high-water vehicles to help evacuate about 3,000 people as rising waters lapped against houses and left cars stranded. Floodwaters rose waist-high in some neighborhoods, and the Louisiana National Guard was working with sheriff's deputies to rescue people stranded in their homes.

BP sues partners as Gulf marks year since spill

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:20:00 +0000

BP marked the first anniversary of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill with a $40 billion lawsuit blaming the disaster on its partners, as Gulf residents held somber vigils and relatives flew over the waters where 11 oil rig workers died.

A year after the rig explosion that triggered the worst offshore oil spill in American history, President Barack Obama vowed to hold BP and others accountable for "the painful losses that they've caused."

For its part, BP filed a lawsuit alleging negligence by the rig owner and by the maker of the device that failed to stop the spill. Both of those companies filed their own claims, a reminder that lengthy court battles lie ahead.

The disaster began on the night of April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon rig burst into flames and killed the 11 men. The rest of the crew evacuated, but two days later the rig toppled into the Gulf and sank to the sea floor. Over the next 85 days, 206 million gallons of oil -- 19 times more than the Exxon Valdez spilled -- spewed from the well.

Gulf oil disaster, one year later

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:10:00 +0000

Relatives of some of the 11 men who died aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are flying over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, back to the epicenter of the worst offshore oil spill in the nation's history.

Meanwhile, on land, vigils were scheduled in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to mark the spill.

On the night of April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a rig owned by Transocean Ltd., burst into flames after drilling a well for BP PLC, killing 11 workers on or near the drilling floor. The rest of the crew evacuated, but two days later the rig toppled into the Gulf and sank to the sea floor. The bodies were never recovered.

Over the next 85 days, 206 million gallons of oil -- 19 times more than the Exxon Valdez spilled -- spewed from the well. In response, the nation commandeered the largest offshore fleet of vessels since D-Day, and BP spent billions of dollars to clean up the mess, saving itself from collapse.

"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 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."

La. shrimpers worry about prices for new season

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Shrimpers returned to Louisiana waters Monday for the first commercial season since the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, uncertain what crude may still be in the water and what price they'll get for the catch if consumers worry about possible lingering effects from the massive BP spill.

The spill has put a crimp in the fishing industry in a state that ranks first in the nation in producing shrimp, blue crab, crawfish and oysters, a $318-million-a year business in Louisiana. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke planned to visit the state Monday to lunch with fishermen and talk to seafood industry representatives.

Perhaps the biggest fear is that some fisherman might try to sell oil-contaminated shrimp and scare consumers away again after prices crashed once already this summer.

"If you see oily shrimp, you got to throw them back over. Go somewhere else. It's all you can do. And you hope everyone else does the same," said Dewayne Baham, 49, a shrimper from Buras.

Louisiana shrimp prices rose soon after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the spill that eventually spewed 206 million gallons of oil from BP's blown-out well. The price spike was fed by fears that the shrimp would soon be unavailable.

Scientists: Gulf can recover

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Want to know the future of the oil-stained Gulf of Mexico ecosystem? Look first to its muddy, polluted past.

The recent ecological history of the Gulf gives scientists reason for hope. In an extensive survey of Gulf of Mexico researchers by The Associated Press, at least 10 of them separately volunteered the same word to describe the body of water: "resilient."

This is buttressed by a government report Wednesday that claims that all but 53 million gallons of the leaked oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon well are gone. The report says the cleanup extracted a lot of it, but the natural processes that break up, evaporate and dissolve oil took care of 84 million gallons -- more than twice the amount human efforts removed.

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EDITOR'S NOTE -- It will take time to see the full effects of one of history's largest oil spills on the Gulf of Mexico, but a survey of 75 scientists offers reason for hope. First in an occasional series, "Gulf Survival."

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That makes sense given the Gulf's history and makeup. The Gulf regularly absorbs environmental insults: overfishing, trawlers raking sea floors, frequent hurricanes. And then there's the dead zone, an area starved of oxygen because 40 percent of America's runoff pours from the Mississippi River into the Gulf.

Oil’s fingers reach into Louisiana’s inland waters

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:01:41 +0000

An oil spill that was previously a problem for coastal Louisiana was trickling deeper inland Tuesday and toward the shores of New Orleans.

Oil sheen and tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon gusher have been spotted in Lake Pontchartrain, the huge lake forming the northern boundary of the city that was rescued in the 1990s from rampant pollution.

"Our universe is getting very small," said Pete Gerica, the 57-year-old president of the Lake Pontchartrain Fishermen's Association. He has fished in the lake his entire life. "It's shrinking daily."

The oil's spread deeper into Louisiana came the same day that tar balls from the spill were confirmed on a beach in Texas. There's a question of whether five gallons of the stuff came naturally on the currents or was dragged by a passing ship from elsewhere, but crews combed the beach and pledged to collect the damages from BP.

Meanwhile out in the Gulf, stormy conditions have delayed the hookup of a new containment vessel, the Helix Producer, to the cap collecting oil from the gushing well head on the seafloor. Officials had originally hoped to connect it on Wednesday. A new target date hasn't been announced.

Lab tests confirm underwater plumes of Gulf oil

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Scientists with the University of South Florida say laboratory tests have confirmed that oil from a spewing Gulf of Mexico well has accumulated in at least two extensive plumes deep underwater.

The researchers said in Baton Rouge on Friday that the tests confirmed their initial findings, which were based on field instruments. BP PLC has claimed there are no plumes underwater and said Friday the company is awaiting further analysis to see whether any data indicates the plumes contain oil.

The researchers say the extensive layers of oil are sitting far beneath the surface miles from the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Tests are continuing and final results are expected Monday.

Expedition to contain Gulf oil leak begins

Thu, 06 May 2010 13:39:00 +0000

A 100-ton concrete-and-steel contraption designed to siphon off the oil fouling the Gulf of Mexico was being hauled to the spot in the sea where a blown-out well is spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of petroleum a day.

Engineers hope it will be the best short-term solution to controlling the leak that has only worsened since it began two weeks ago.

A rapid response team planned to head to the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana's coast Thursday to look into unconfirmed reports that oil from the spill had arrived there, Coast Guard Petty Officer Erik Swanson said.

A boat hauling the specially built containment box and dome structure pushed off Wednesday evening from the Louisiana coast and was expected to arrive at the site of the disaster sometime Thursday.

The Joe Griffin will meet up with another BP-chartered boat, the Boa Sub C, a Norwegian vessel that will use a crane to lower the contraption to the seafloor to cover the gusher of oil spewing from the seabed -- something that has never been tried before at such depths. BP spokesman Bill Salvin said the drop is expected at about noon on Thursday.

Oil reaches shore as Coast Guard defends response

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:18:00 +0000

A senior Coast Guard official is defending the federal response to a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico as the first waves of oil hit Louisiana's ecologically rich wetlands.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara faced questions on all three network television morning shows Friday about whether the government has done enough to push oil company BP PLC to plug the underwater leak and protect the coast.

Brice-O'Hara said the federal response led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since a drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the seafloor spill.

She said the Coast Guard has been closely monitoring efforts led by BP to contain and stop the oil spill and has filled in gaps where needed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (AP) -- Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico was starting to ooze ashore, threatening migrating birds, nesting pelicans and even river otters and mink along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes.

Crews in boats were patrolling coastal marshes early Friday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.

La. gov declares emergency over Gulf oil spill

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:20:00 +0000

Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and the federal government sent in skimmers and booms Thursday as oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico oozed toward the fragile coastline.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara said at the White House that the government's priority was to support oil company BP PLC as it fights to hold back the oil surging from the seabed in amounts much higher than previously estimated.

BP was operating the Deepwater Horizon, which was drilling in 5,000 feet of water about 40 miles offshore when it exploded last week. Eleven crew members are missing and presumed dead, and the government says 5,000 barrels of oil a day are spewing from the blown-out well underneath it.

Those who count on the Gulf for their livelihoods fretted Thursday about oil that could reach the coast as soon as Friday.

In Empire, La., Frank and Mitch Jurisich could smell the oil coming from just beyond the murky water where their family has harvested oysters for three generations.

"About 30 minutes ago we started smelling it," Mitch Jurisich said. "That's when you know it's getting close and it hits you right here."

Worsening gulf spill may need military

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:20:00 +0000

A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is even worse than believed and as the government grows concerned that the rig's operator is ill-equipped to contain it, officials are offering a military response to try to avert a massive environmental disaster along the ecologically fragile U.S. coastline.

Speaking Thursday on NBC's "Today" show, an executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.

"We'll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.

But time may be running out. Not only was a third leak discovered -- which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water than originally estimated -- but it might be closer to shore than previously known, and could have oil washing up on shore by Friday.

At the same time, there appeared to be a rift developing between BP and the Coast Guard, which is overseeing the increasingly desperate operation to contain the spill and clean it up.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry was emphatic at a hastily called news conference late Wednesday that the new leak was discharging 5,000 barrels a day of sweet crude, not the 1,000 barrels officials had estimated for days since the Deepwater Horizons drilling rig exploded and sank 50 miles off the Louisiana Coast.

Army Corps critic sues La. university over firing

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:25:45 +0000

Ivor van Heerden, a Louisiana State University scientist and a widely cited expert on levee failures after Hurricane Katrina, sued his college on Wednesday, alleging he was fired for his criticism of the Army Corps of Engineers.

In the lawsuit, van Heerden alleges that LSU officials violated his free speech and civil rights. Van Heerden claims LSU officials were afraid of losing federal grants and contracts because of his outspokenness. The suit alleges wrongful termination and seeks unspecified damages.

LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said he could not comment on the lawsuit. But he added that LSU "wholeheartedly supports its faculty and values their research, teaching and scholarly publishing."

Amanda Jones, a corps spokeswoman, said the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

LSU officials have said van Heerden was not qualified to speak as an expert on the wide range of issues he was commenting on in interviews with a plethora of media outlets and groups after Katrina.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Baton Rouge, names the LSU board of Supervisors and four top-level LSU officials as defendants. The individuals named in the lawsuit -- Brooks Keel, Robert Twilley, George Voyiadjis and David Constant -- either did not return telephone calls seeking comment or could not be reached.