Oil spill stretches 10 miles down a river in Mississippi
Oil spill stretches 10 miles down a river in Mississippi
The Wayne County News on
See those dark globs? They’re oil floating down the Chickasawhay River.
A 10-mile stretch of Mississippi’s Chickasawhay River was fouled by more than 200 barrels of oil after equipment at a drilling well malfunctioned.
The Wayne County News reported in an online video that cleanup efforts were complicated by the oil spill’s remote location. The U.S. EPA, Coast Guard, and state and local authorities have responded to the spill, the newspaper reported.
The spill was reported by Logan Oil on Thursday, and the emergency clean-up operations are expected to continue at least until the end of this week. From WHLT:
Joseph Dunlap of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency says oil flowed roughly four miles down the Chickasawhay River, which is located about one mile from the oil field.
Mississippi Oil and Gas Board (MSOGB) field director Allen Floyd says the spill had been contained, and its environmental effects were expected to be “minimal.”
Floyd says the spill happened because of an equipment malfunction. It’s still under investigation.
“The spill has been contained. There have been small amounts of oil as far down as ten miles from where the oil entered the river,” says Floyd.
Though the Oil and Gas Board is trying to dismiss the spill as “minimal,” Angela Atchison, head of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, deemed it “significant.”
John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.
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