Oil Spill Recovery 95 Percent Complete In Louisiana
Release Date: November 4, 2005
Release Number: 1603-141
» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina
» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Rita
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness are coordinating with other federal, state and local agencies to clean up and reduce the environmental impact of the oil spills in Louisiana. Just two months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita spilled more than nine million gallons of oil, the oil recovery effort is now 95 percent complete according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has led the oil recovery effort. To date they have recovered 3,888,808 gallons of oil. More than four million gallons of oil has either evaporated or dissipated naturally. Additionally, 403,578 gallons of oil, or five percent of the total oil spilled, remains to be removed. The USCG has nearly completed waterway oil recovery and is working closely with the Louisiana DEQ to complete the recovery.
While the overall environmental impact of the oil spills remains unknown, Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana DEQ have damage assessment teams throughout the area evaluating the impact of the spill.
With more than nine million gallons of oil spilled in Louisiana, this disaster approaches the magnitude of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1992, when an oil tanker ran aground in Alaska, releasing approximately 11 million gallons of oil.
Last Modified: Friday, 04-Nov-2005 16:53:12