(photo courtesy of the Gulf Restoration Network)
From the AP, via The New Orleans Advocate:
OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) — A blanket of fog lifts, exposing a band of rainbow sheen that stretches for miles off the coast of Louisiana. From the vantage point of an airplane, it’s easy to see gas bubbles in the slick that mark the spot where an oil platform toppled during a 2004 hurricane, triggering what might be the longest-running commercial oil spill ever to pollute the Gulf of Mexico.
Yet more than a decade after crude started leaking at the site formerly operated by Taylor Energy Company, few people even know of its existence. The company has downplayed the leak’s extent and environmental impact, likening it to scores of minor spills and natural seeps the Gulf routinely absorbs.
An Associated Press investigation has revealed evidence that the spill is far worse than what Taylor — or the government — have publicly reported during their secretive, and costly, effort to halt the leak. Presented with AP’s findings, that the sheen recently averaged about 91 gallons of oil per day across eight square miles, the Coast Guard provided a new leak estimate that is about 20 times greater than one recently touted by the company.
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/...
The environmental watchdog group SkyTruth estimates as much as 1.4 million gallons have spilled since Hurricane Ivan caused a mudslide that toppled the platform back in 2004. That would put it on the top ten list of worst oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://skytruth.org
While Taylor Energy claimed in March of last year that the site was leaking a mere 4 gallons a day, SkyWatch and other experts say it could be closer to 900 gallons a day.
In 2009, it created a 1,170 mile long slick, which was ridiculously reported as a leak of 1.5 gallons of oil. Is there a scientific term for pffffffft?
There has also been a spike in sheen observation since September of last year, meaning it could be getting worse.
The infuriating part, really, is the secrecy. Even Plaquemines Parish coastal restoration director P.J. Hahn - the guy in charge of overseeing the 2010 BP Spill cleanup - didn't know about the spill until December of 2012! Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York-based environmental group, successfully sued Taylor Energy to gain access to their files, but they aren't allowed to share the information.
http://waterkeeper.org
According to the AP, last year, federal officials convened a "workshop" for solutions to the Taylor Spill, in which it was reportedly decided the best course was "no affirmative action".
It would be interesting to find out which federal officials were at this meeting and if they were misled.
Taylor Energy purchased the well platform in 1994 from...BP.