An 83-year-old well is gushing a mixture of crude oil and natural gas into coastal marsh in Plaquemines Parish, near Garden Island Bay, La. The United States Coast Guard ramped up efforts to contain it on Thursday, assuming federal control over the response and clean up.
“It’s big compared to, you know, there’s spills and releases throughout the year. This would be a major spill considered on a federal level basically,” said Patrick Harvey, the director of Homeland Security for Plaquemines Parish. He added it’s not as big as the BP oil spill that occurred 15 years ago.
The well was listed as an inactive over a decade ago by a previous owner, but was never permanently plugged according to state records. The Coast Guard said it doesn’t know yet what caused it to leak.
According to the Coast Guard, crews have been working around the clock, but have not yet managed to stop the leak. The agency said it doesn’t yet know how much oil and gas mixture has been spilled, but it has collected about 50,000 gallons of oily water so far. It has also deployed more than 15,000 feet of containment boom to allow their vessels and skimmers to collect liquids. It is also using 740 bales of absorbent boom to protect nearby islands.
Coast Guard Lt. Phillip Vanderweit said the leak has been difficult to stop because it’s hard to reach the well and the well is so old.
“This well is a World War II era well. It was drilled in 1942, and as such, there's a lot of unknowns particularly beneath the surface,” he said.
The well has changed hands over the decades. It’s currently owned by Spectrum OpCo, LLC, which has been deemed the responsible party. The company, a subsidiary of the Houston-based company, Spectrum Energy Co., is working with the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office as part of a unified response.
Spectrum OpCo, LLC could not be reached for comment.
Justin Solet, an advocate with True Transition who worked on oil rigs for nearly a decade, said he is worried about what impacts the spill will have on the waterfowl, fish and shrimp in the area.
“ It's just pristine wetlands as far as you can see, and now there's this huge black scar. It’s suffering. It's like a gaping wound from the pictures I've seen. It’s just reminiscent of what happened 15 years ago during the BP drilling disaster,” he said.
He’s also worried about potential methane pollution that isn’t visible to the eye, and how the spill will impact people who live nearby.
The Coast Guard said it is still assessing the environmental impacts. It said the results of air monitoring have not raised any immediate concerns.
“Although we are working feverishly to secure the source, we are fully committed to the long-term environmental remediation that this release of oil to the environment is going to have,” said Vanderweit.
One oiled bird has been observed, but it wasn’t captured. The Coast Guard encourages people to report any impacted wildlife to the Wildlife Hotline at 832-514-9663. Mariners are encouraged to report any observations of oil to the National Response Center at 800-424-8802. Individuals or businesses who are directly impacted by the spill should call 1-866-601-5880.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the well was plugged over a decade ago. The well was in fact only listed as inactive and was never permanently plugged.
