More Voices From the Spill

July 28, 2010

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The more things change the more they stay the same. The cap plugging BP’s broken wellhead has been holding for nearly two weeks now. Tropical storms are still approaching. Debate continues over the best way to prevent the busted well from continuing to gush, whether to tap it via relief wells or stuff it full of mud. There are some who still believe the well may be leaking thanks to cracks in the ocean floor. Many reports are wondering out loud where all the oil has gone.

While all suggest progress, or at least continued ready-reaction to current events, let’s not lose sight of the fact that there are still tens of millions of gallons of crude oil afloat in the Gulf that weren’t there 95 days ago.
I reached out to a small, diverse trio of Louisianans for an update from this particular ground zero.

P.J. ((“Yes, that’s right, P.J., as in pajamas!”) Hahn, who heads up the coastal restoration department in Plaquemines Parish — home to the port town of Venice and the very camera-friendly Parish President Billy Nungesser — can’t wait to get back to his main pre-occupation these days, cleaning up.

“Certainly I’m glad the well is capped. But we are still crazy busy. We’re meeting with Thad Allen and the Coast Guard as often as we can, to stay on top of its plans for cleanup. That will determine a lot of our agendas.
“I went out over the last few days and boated and flew the coast. Because of the winds and current, we didn’t see too much oil coming ashore.”

(For more of my dispatch from Louisiana, go to takepart.com)