Gulf Spill Update: Army Corps Rejects Plans; Oil Reaches Lake Pontchartrain
Brandon Stewart /
We reported yesterday about the Army Corps of Engineers rejection of a plan by Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish to block oil from entering the Barataria Bay. Outrage has been growing over that decision, buoyed by news that oil has reached nearby Lake Pontchartrain. According to a reports, responders retrieved roughly 1,000 pounds of “tar balls and waste” from the waters.
Not only are locals upset by the rejection–a shock after initially offering support for the measure–but there is increasing concern that the government has no alternative plan in place:
“One of the things that really gets me is they didn’t offer us an alternative plan and they didn’t offers us a plan of their own, “[Grand Isle Mayor David] Carmardelle said. “They just said, No.”
Carmardelle’s frustration was matched by Governor Bobby Jindal who explained, “They need to fight it like the war that it is. We have told them that no is not an answer, no is not a plan, no is not acceptable.” (more…)