Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
July 1, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MDEQ JULY 1 UPDATE ON OIL MATERIAL IN MISSISSIPPI
BILOXI, Miss. – Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) staff through aerial surveillance with the Mississippi National Guard and MDEQ response staff have observed the following Thursday (as of 5:00 p.m.) and sent to Unified Command for review and appropriate response:
•Dark brown streaks with no sheen east and south of Long Beach Pier (N 30 20.71 W 89 07.34).
•?75 to 80 small tar balls – landfall by Pass Christian Wal-Mart (N 30 19.61 W 89 11.21).
• ?Line of emulsified oil mixed with tar balls three to five miles south of Bay St Louis (start N 30 11.96
W 89 16.55; end N 30 12.45 W 89 14.93)
•Tar mats 10 feet by 30 feet and smaller – northwest tip of Horn Island (N 30 13.71 W 89 10.82)
•Two hundred yard tar ball Field south of Cat Island (N 30 13.42 W 89 08.40)
•?Northeast to southwest streamer of heavily emulsified oil one-half to three-quarters of a mile long; emulsified line 200 to 300 feet the length of Ship Island:
Pt 1 N 30 11.11 W 89 01.72
Pt 2 N 30 11.82 W 89 89.65
Pt 3 N 30 11.88 W 89 59.35
•West Ship Island – 200 yard small emulsified line with tar balls (start N 30 12.78 W 88 57.38; end N 30 14.27 W 88 56.79).
•West end of East Ship Island - large algae field (N 30 14.50 W 88 49.29)
•Sheen with tar balls off Petit Bois Island (N 30 12.88 W 88 29.82).
•Line of tar balls off Petit Bois (start N 30 11.89 W 88 27.55; end N 30 12.41
W 30 25.24).
• Tar balls and sheen bordering boom off northeast Petit Bois Island.
• Brown algae on the south side of Horn Island to one-half mile off shore.
•Tar ball field far side of Petit Bois (N 30 12.74 W 88 24.59).
•Field of tar balls 15 to 20 yards wide off Horn Island
Pt 1 N 30 13.63 W 88 38.88
Pt 2 N 30 13.07 W 88 38.55
Pt 3 N 30 13.22 W 88 36.89
•1.5 miles off Petit Bois - streamer 10 yards by 300 feet with tar balls (start N 30 14.19 W 88 25.15; end N 30 14.86 W 88 28.04).
•Emulsified tar field (N 30 14.94 W 88 28.64).
•Reported tar balls and tar patties at the intersection of Highway 90 and Pitcher Point in Long Beach (N30.33239 W89.18130).
•Reported tar balls in the canal at Northrop Grumman.
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.ms.gov.
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