Isaac's Messy Aftermath

 Stolthaven Chemical Plant, Braitwaite

The depth of Isaac's destruction came into focus as the flood waters finally receded. The surge knocked homes off their foundations and toppled power lines for miles, stranding cars and cattle alike, it also toppled railroad cars full of toxins and hazardous chemicals parked at the Stolthaven Chemical Plant in Braitwaite. To date, there is no information about what was spilled and how much, but the spill was bad enough to mandate a half mile exclusion zone around the plant. Not until yesterday were residents who live near the plant allowed t to check on their homes and rescue belongings. Braitwaite residents who live beyond the exclusion zone go about there business hoping they are not being poisoned. Those I spoke to are skeptical about rebuilding in the area. With the chemical waste and the lack of flood protection they may decide to settle elsewhere. They blame the severity of the surge on the flood protection created for New Orleans. Though there is no proof as yet that New Orleans' massive Great Wall forced the water in their direction, Blake Miller says, "The water hitting the wall had to go somewhere." Oil washed up on the columns of St. Mary Plantation, the historic landmark he recently restored.

Since the BP oil spill when the government went along with BPs misinformation campaign, everyone in the area is skeptical of official information. The remnants of BP's oil spill are back, washing up on the beaches and in the marsh. So much for BP's tv commercials claiming the Gulf Coast is better than ever.

 Isaacs surge was predicted, but Solthaven was caught off guard. Doesn't a chemical plant have a responsibility to safeguard its neighbors when storms are coming? Is self regulation, like that of the oil ad gas industry, enough? Will Braitwaite become a toxic ghost town? For now, the beleaguered town is contending with visible dangers, watching out for snakes and red ants as they clean up the muck.. Their next job is dealing with insurance adjusters and FEMA representatives who are spreading the word that this time around it will not be like it was after Katrina, and they shouldn't expect as much.

Photos available through Corbis 
Stories on the Atlantic's website:  Eerie Vision on Highway 23 After Hurricane Isaac and
 After Isaac New Orleans Struggle to Rebound but Counts Its Blessings 

 *Linda Hopper-Bui from LSU supplied coordiantes to find the oil in Bay Baptiste that her tests confirmed as a match to the Macando (BP) well.

Hwy. 23 in  Plaquemiens Parish

Cows in house on Hyw. 23

Destroyed home in Briaitwaite

St, Mary’s Plantation in Briaitwaite

Blake Miller owner of St, Mary’s Plantation assesing the damages

Toxic chemical on the levee in Briaitwaite

Assumption Mission in Briaitwaite

Cow in house on Hwy. 23 in Plaquemines Parish

Coffin on the levee in Briaitwaite, Plaquemines Parish

 Cat Island eroded to less the half its size by Isaac.

BP oil in Bay Baptiste

Industrial Incident Causes Massive Fish Kill in Louisiana

Another industrial incident takes a toll on the environment in Louisiana. The Temple-Inland paper mill in Bogalusa has taken responsibility for a fish kill in Pearl River and its tributaries stemming from an incident that began over a week ago. Attached are images I shot on Aug. 18 and 19th of the fish kill and the cleanup.

The paper mill knew they had a problem when they exceeded their limit of allowable discharge into the Pearl River. They didn't report the incident to DEQ ( Department of Environmental Quality) immediately, nor did they stop production. When they did cease operation, enough black liquor, a byproduct of the paper-making process, was released into the river to cause a major kill of fish including carp, drum catfish, eels , sardines and the endangered sturgeon, shellfish and turtles along 40 miles of river. By the end of this weekend, most of the dead fish have been picked up. Water fouled by chemicals that caused oxygen depletion have been flushing out into bigger bodies of water--first into the Rigolets and from there into Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, which both connect to the Gulf of Mexico. Damage to the Rigolets and the lakes is being monitored by the DEQ and other concerned parties. On the August 20, crabbers reported pulling up hundreds of traps full of dead crabs ( see local news report here  ) .
To see more images this link is to a set on Flickr  .
To see a video clip click here.
Nature's resiliency is remarkable. Though the tributary I documented was full of death, the maggots were very much alive, feasting on the fish carcasses. The Pearl River and other bayous I explored had signs of life returning, despite the black film still present in the water.

Return Trip to Site Where Oil Coming From Unknown Source Was Found Off Grand Isle

 Emulsified oil 1/2 mile due south of Grande Isle on March 21st 

On March 21, I returned to Elmer's Island and Grand Isle, where the day before I photographed oil and oil sheen washing into Caminada Bay . The Coast Guard confirmed that there was oil on the water on March 21, but still hasn't identified the source. By Monday only a small amount of sheen and foam could be found. Some of the oil had already been cleaned off the beach, some was skimmed, but a lot of what I saw yesterday had already made its way into Caminada Bay, a rich estuary. About half a mile due south of Grand Isle, we encountered  a plume of emulsified oil. Plumes were reported by Jefferson Parish officials during flyovers the day before. Also off shore, we spotted a young dead dolphin, adding to the high number already reported this year by New Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


This new oil spill raises many questions: What is the source of the oil and is it still leaking? How much of it is there? Could it be connected to the BP disaster? Is it a good idea to restart deepwater drilling? Are the regulators regulating? Why are the polluters often not fined the maximum allowed and why do regulators let some code breakers get away without any penalty? And what is causing an unusually high number of young dolphins to die?  The answers are still up in the air, but the Coast Guard, NOAA and private citizens are all busy trying to get the facts.

Dead young dolphin found floating in the Gulf, cause of death undetermined, adding to the abnormally high dolphin mortality  rate this year. 

Emulsified oil 1/2 mile due south of Grande Isle on March 21st

Boom put out on March 21st across the cut leading into Caminada Bay, an rich estuary. Oil washed through the cut on March 20th. See video clip of oil getting in 

Emulsified oil 1/2 mile due south of Grande Isle on March 21st 

More Oil Washes Up on the Gulf Coast as One Year Anniversary of BP Disaster Appoaches

Wildlife and Fishery Agents Check out Oil off Elmer's Island 

The mayor of Grand Isle, LA, held a press conference Sunday afternoon to say that reports of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, which started circulated on Friday, are heartbreakingly correct. Oil was spotted by fishermen, residents and members of OnWingsOfCare.org, a non profit organization who flew over what they described as a slick 100 miles long by 12 miles wide on Friday. 

On Sunday morning, the Coast Guard still hadn't confirmed there was oil in the Gulf so I took a ride down to Grand Isle to see for myself. Finding the oil was easy. It took ten minuets by boat headed to the cut in Caminada Bay where Grande Isle and Elmer's Island almost come together. Oil was rolling in with the tide. I spoke to Wildlife and Fishery agents who had no doubt it was oil. It smelled like oil, looked like oil and felt like oil. Coast Guard were on the Elmer's Island beach, which is still closed to the public. A clean up crew seemed to be inspecting the situation, rather than cleaning. Later on Sunday the Coast Guard acknowledged that oil is washing up on Elmer's island, Grand Isle and Port Fouchon, but discounted reports of oil further up the coast; it is silt from the Mississippi River, according to the Coast Guard.

Where the oil is coming from is unclear at this point. If more is on the way and just how much was leaked, no one seems to know. Coast Guard Commander John Burton suggested the source could be oil that was released for 4-6 hours on Saturday while a drilling site was being plugged, but the investigation is ongoing.  After conducting tests, the Coast Guard said the Gulf waters are within acceptable pollution limits. But the fact is more oil in the Gulf is washing up on the coast less than a year after the BP oil spill. That didn't stop some beach goers from swimming and fishermen from fishing. "Call it Island Apathy," a long time resident said.

Click here for video of oil washing into Caminada Bay and here.

Grand Island beach with oil in the water

 Oil of Elmer's Island 

Cut leading into Caminada Bay where oil rolled in on 3/20/11

Boat passing through oil off Elmer's Island

Oil on the beach at Grand Isle

Oil on trash on the beach at Grand Isle

People swim on Grand Isle beach despite new oil washing up

BP Oil Left Behind in Louisiana

I got a call from Grace Welch asking me to come to Terribone Parish to see the oil BP is leaving behind as the clean-up efforts to an end. Welch is a Pointe-au-Chien Indian from Pointe-au-Chien, LA. The community has taken a bad blow from the BP oil spill since most people make a living from fishing, shrimping, crabbing and oyster harvesting. Though their ancestral fishing grounds weren't as badly polluted as Bay Jimmy in Plaquaemines Parish or the beaches near Grand Isle, the marsh was fouled by BP oil. The marsh grass along the shores in Lake Chien and Lake Raccaurci that got coated in oil in May has died. Today a gooey swath of oil lines the shore. BP never cleaned this area. Some boom was put out after the oil had already gotten into the marsh and then was later removed. That was the extent of the clean up, Russell Dar Dar, an elder tribe member told me.

A few members of the tribe are still employed by BP in Terribone Parish, working off Cocodrie where they are removing oil drenched absorbent boom that has washed up on marshland. Once this boom is picked up, the clean up in Terribone Parish will be over. BP claims it will do the marsh more harm than good to clean it up. Where is their scientific justification coming from? Could it really be that leaving thick oil on the shore that has already killed the grass, to sink deeper into the soil, is a good thing? I watched birds hunting shrimp , sticking their beaks into the oily goop to catch their prey. Maybe a little oil isn't a bad thing?

A company called Gulfsavers has a solution that is not invasive to the march. Their product, made with oil-eating microbes, would help speed up the natural decomposing proccess. They have been unable to get BP to buy their product and are hoping enough donations will come in so that they can get some of their product in place and do their part in cleaning the marshland.

Dar Dar and I watched a shrimp boat at work just a few yards from the oil coated shore, in waters recently re-opened to fishing. We both wonder who would want to eat those shrimp if they saw the spot from which they came. Dar Dar has collected oysters that are being tested by the the Bucket Brigade (http://www.labucketbrigade.org/article.php?list=type&type=4) so he can decide whether or not he will resume oyster harvesting for the Thanksgiving season . Dar Dar is worried about the future. He no longer trusts what he is told. The BP oil disaster taught him the power of lies: If they are repeated often enough, people believe them. Dar Dar goes by what he sees and is having his own testing done.

Here is a photo essay on the Pointe-au-Chien Indians I did for the Washington Post

Third Major Fish Kill in One Week

On September 19th, BP pronounced its Macando well dead. End of story? Hardly. A September 19th trip along the coast of Bay Jimmy in Plaquemines Parish proved the oil is still out there , and more and more fish kills have been reported. According to the AP, Wildlife and Fisheries are writing off the recent fish kills: Lack of oxygen caused by low tide and high temperatures suffocated the fish, they say. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated oxygen levels had fallen by 20 percent if areas of the gulf where plumes of oil were found according to an article in the Times of London by Jacqui Goddard.

P. J. Hahn, director of the Coastal Zone Management Department of Plaquimines Parish, agrees the fish suffocated, but he isn't so sure the BP oil disaster isn't in some way connected. He showed me the spot in Bayou Robinson where he found a new fish kill on Sept. 18th, the third reported in one week. Finding the spot wasn't too hard, the smell unmistakable. Birds and dolphins were feasting on the dead fish like an X marking the spot.
The predominant species found floating on the surface were menhaden, also called pogie, mixed with crab and catfish. Unlike the first major fish kill on Sept 15th, a thin coating of oil was visible on many of the fish. Though fish kills are a common occurrence at the end of the summer, their current frequency and scale are unprecedented, Hahn explained. It is impossible to rule out oil or dispersant as factors until tests are done.

Hank Bart, an ichthyologist at Tulane's Natural History Museum, concurs. "Fish kills are caused by organism booms, either bacterial or algae, that suck the oxygen out of the water. The cause for such growths come from a variety of circumstances that can't be determined without testing."

Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser, who has been fighting for faster and greater action all along, acknowledged it is good to hear the well is finally dead; however, he stressed he will fight BP and the government till the end to make sure his parish has been made whole again, as promised. Plaquemines Parish's district attorney is conducting his own tests with the help of a specialist from Alaska, not relying solely on the federal government's testing. On the upside, scientists and lawyers in the region won't be short of work any time soon. "can anybody look the American people in the eye and say it absolutely has nothing to do with dispersants, the oil, or the breakdown of the oil, or does anybody care? I mean somebody has to be as upset as I am?" Nungesser asked.

WWL TV in New Orleans followed up by interviewing an agent from Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, who said no testing was deemed necessary because his agents found no sign of pollution at the site of the fish kills. 30 minutes later the another representative from Louisisana Wildlife and Fisheries called WWL and said the fish from Bayou Robinson would be tested after all.
To see the story shot by Phin Percy for Fox 8 on the fish kill click here

Images- all images were shot on Sept. 19, 2010: fish kill in Bayou Robinson, oil in Bay Jimmy

to see more images of Bay Jimmy and the fish kill click here