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Oil Well Leak in Louisiana’s Coastal Marshes Successfully Contained
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday that an oil and natural gas spill that had been leaking into the coastal marshes of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, has been “successfully secured” after more than a week of intensive response efforts.
Response teams cut through the wellhead around noon on Sunday, allowing them to install a flowback assembly that stopped the discharge and regained control of the well, marking a crucial step in addressing the environmental incident that began on April 26.
“Gaining control of the discharge is a vital milestone, but it marks only the beginning of our work,” said Capt. Greg Callaghan, U.S. Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator. “The Unified Command is fully committed to an exhaustive cleanup effort and will remain on site for as long as necessary to ensure the removal of oil and the safety of both the community and the ecosystem.”
Challenging Containment Operation
The leaking well, located near Garden Island Bay in the Bird’s Foot Delta of the Mississippi River, presented unique challenges to response teams. According to Coast Guard Lt. Phillip Vanderweit, the operation was complicated by both access difficulties and the well’s age.
“This well is a World War II era well. It was drilled in 1942, and as such, there are a lot of unknowns, particularly beneath the surface,” Vanderweit explained.
Patrick Harvey, Director of Homeland Security for Plaquemines Parish, described the incident as “a major spill considered on a federal level,” though he noted it was significantly smaller than the BP oil spill that occurred 15 years ago.
Federal Oversight
The Coast Guard federalized the response operation on Thursday, May 1, taking over from Spectrum OpCo, LLC, which has been deemed the responsible party. The well, which was capped over a decade ago in 2015 but not permanently plugged, is currently owned by Spectrum OpCo, a subsidiary of Houston-based Spectrum Energy Co.
To enhance the cleanup effort, the Coast Guard accessed the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted Environmental Safety & Health Consulting Services Inc. and Couvillion Group to manage cleanup operations and control the source of the spill.
Moving forward, response teams will continue monitoring wildlife and shorelines, with particular attention to environmentally sensitive areas, as the Unified Command assesses ongoing impacts and directs cleanup operations.
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