Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
July 7, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MDEQ JULY 7 UPDATE ON OIL MATERIAL IN MISSISSIPPI
BILOXI, Miss. – Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) staff through aerial surveillance with the Mississippi National Guard, MDEQ response staff, and Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Teams (SCAT) have observed the following Wednesday (as of 6:00 p.m.) and sent to Unified Command for review and appropriate response:
Morning flight information:
· Area of tar balls one to two inches in size south of Horn Island (N 30 07.69, W 88 39.74).
· Area of tar balls approximately three feet by three feet located three miles SSE of Cat Island (N 30 08.04, W 89 05.93).
· Line of approximately one mile long of emulsified oil mixed with intermittent tar balls running WNW to SE approximately three miles SSW of West Ship Island. (N 30 08.40, W 89 05.81; N 30 07.24, W 89 03.87).
· Area approximately 600 yards in diameter of tar balls three miles southeast of Petit Bois Island moving north between Petit Bois and Dauphin Island (N 30 12.41, W 88 25.24; N 30 09.51, W 88 23.18).
· Scattered tar balls running NW to SE south of Petit Bois Island (N 30 08.00, W 88 28.26; N 30 05.13, W 88 24.05).
· Streamer one mile in length of scattered tar balls (N 30 08.01, W 88 34.45; N 30 07.20, W 88 32.93).
· Area of heavy mousse approximately 200 feet by 5 feet located south of Horn Island (N 30 13.00, W 88 39.00).
· Possible area of sheen 100 yards by 50 yards approximately six miles south of West Ship Island (N 30 12.85, W 89 06.70).
· Area of dispersed tar balls north of Petit Bois Island (N 30 15.48, W 88 30.07; N 30 15.75, W 88 31.22
· Area of sheen with possible tar balls 50 yards by 20 yards in size (N 30 19.06, W 89 04.16).
Evening Flight information:
● Tar patch approximately three feet by five 5 feet just off shore south of Waveland.
· Field containing two feet by two feet tar balls located one mile SE of Silver Slipper Casino (N 30 14.15, W 89 233.77).
· Large area of seaweed and algae southeast of Petit Bois Island with less than one percent tar balls (N 30 12.41, W 88 25.24; N 30 09.51, W 88 23.18; N 30 12.43, W 88 34.36; N 30 10.05, W 88 15.47).
Other information from MDEQ staff:
● Tar ball and tar patty coverage from Pass Christian Marina to the east (eastern edge: N30 19.583, W89 12.487) with approximately 10 percent coverage and some spots with as much as 50 percent coverage.
· Sporadic tar balls approximately three to four inches long along beaches in Long Beach and Pass Christian. One area of heavier concentration was observed in Long Beach at N30 20.402, W89 09.676.
· Tar balls found on both sides of Treasure Bay location for about 50 to 75 yards.
· Oily sheen and tar patties near Courthouse Pier in Gulfport. Patties are two to three feet in diameter.
· Tar patties found on beach and in water approximately one mile west of the Long Beach marina. Thin streamers of oil in the water with orange tint in the water.
· Sporadic tar balls on beach from Gulfport marina east for about two miles.
· Scattered tar balls on the beach in Bay St. Louis between Union Street to boom at U.S. Highway 90 bridge.
Patches of tar balls and weathered oil are skimmed and corralled by Vessels of Opportunity and BP contractors. Skimming is used to remove streams of emulsified oil, tar balls, and tar patties. Tar balls and mousse patties on land are removed with shovels and rakes.
More information and links about MDEQ’s and DMR’s roles in oil spill response are available at www.deq.state.ms.us/oilspill and www.dmr.state.ms.us/DMR/oil-spill.htm.
# # # |