NEW ORLEANS — An oil spill that was previously a problem for coastal Louisiana was trickling deeper inland Tuesday and toward the shores of New Orleans.
Oil sheen and tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon gusher have been spotted in Lake Pontchartrain, the huge lake forming the city’s northern boundary.
“Our universe is getting very small,” said Pete Gerica, the 57-year-old president of the Lake Pontchartrain Fishermen’s Association. He has fished in the lake his entire life.
“It’s shrinking daily,” he said.
The oil’s spread deeper into Louisiana came the same day that tar balls from the spill were confirmed on beaches in Texas. There’s a question of whether five gallons of the stuff came naturally on the currents or was dragged by a passing ship from elsewhere, but crews combed the beach and pledged to collect the damages from BP.
Meanwhile, out in the gulf, stormy conditions have delayed the hookup of a new containment vessel, the Helix Producer, to the cap collecting oil from the gushing well head on the seafloor.
Officials originally had hoped to connect it today. A new target date hasn’t been announced.
The weather also delayed the arrival of a Navy airship that will serve as a floating observation post above the gulf. It is now expected to arrive in Mobile, Ala., on Friday.
The Associated Press
