PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) – Photographs show what looks like a mile-long oil slick near an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida, according to aerial survey images released Wednesday by the National Oceanic Authority and Atmospheric and reviewed by The Associated Press.
Government footage, along with additional photos taken by AP from a helicopter Tuesday, also show Louisiana port facilities, oil refineries and shipyards on the way to the storm, where the typical rainbow glow of the spills oil and fuel is visible in the water of the bays and bayous. .
Both state and federal regulators said Wednesday they had been unable to reach the affected area, citing difficult conditions in the disaster area.
NOAA photographs show a black spot floating in the gulf near a large platform with the name Elisperation Offshore Drilling painted on its heliport. The Houston-based company did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone or email Wednesday.
Aerial photographs taken by NOAA on Tuesday also show significant flooding at the massive Phillips 66 Alliance refinery along the banks of the Mississippi River, just south of New Orleans. In some sections of the refinery, the brightness of the rainbow is visible in the water leading to the river.
Asked about reports of dam failures near the refinery on Monday, Phillips 66 spokesman Bernardo Fallas said there was “some water” at the refinery and stressed that operations were closed before the storm. Asked on Tuesday about the possible environmental hazards emanating from the facility, Fallas referred a journalist to a statement on the company’s website saying his response is focused on “ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and employees. our surrounding communities “.
After AP sent 66 photographs to Phillips on Wednesday showing flooding at its refinery and what appeared to be oil in the water, Fallas admitted by email that the company could confirm it had “discovered a glow of unknown origin in some flooded areas of the Refinery Alliance “.
“Right now, it looks like the brightness is assured and contained in the refinery lands,” Fallas said Wednesday evening. “There is cleaning equipment on site. The incident was reported to the relevant regulatory agencies upon discovery. “
Fallas did not respond immediately if the leak was reported after AP sent photos to the company four hours earlier.
Phillips listed the Alliance refinery for sale last week, before the storm hit, citing poor market conditions.
All in all, seven Louisiana refineries remained closed Wednesday. Combined, they account for approximately 9% of all U.S. refining capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Some Mississippi River refineries reported damage to the barge docks that were triggered during the storm.
Jennah Durant, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency, said Wednesday that the agency had not received reports of significant spills or other environmental threats after the Category 4 storm hit Port Fourchon on Sunday with winds of 240 km / h h
Three days after the storm, Durant said Wednesday that no EPA personnel had yet been deployed to the devastated region south of New Orleans. Asked if EPA staff had been reviewing aerial photos taken by federal planes over the disaster area, Durant said the images had not been provided to the agency.
AP-reviewed aerial images are readily available to the public on the NOAA website.
After the AP sent photos of the oil slick to the EPA on Wednesday, the agency’s press secretary Nick Conger said the U.S. Coast Guard-operated National Response Center hotline had received 26 calls reporting leaks or spills in the storm zone, but none had guaranteed an EPA response.
Conger said any person or organization responsible for a release or spill is required to notify the federal government when the amount reaches a federally determined limit.
AP also provided photos of the oil slick to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, which regulates marine drilling in state waters. Spokesman Patrick Courreges confirmed the agency had received an informal report of oil glare in the southern waters of Port Fourchon, but said regulators “currently do not yet have the capacity to get out of it”.
Both state and federal environmental regulators said the emergency response to Ida had been hampered by blocked roads, washed-out bridges, power outages and a lack of communications. Both landline and cell phone service in much of the region remained offline on Wednesday.
“I think most agencies are stuck on the whole issue of‘ war fog ’right now, with many more places where we need to be than we can be,” Courreges wrote in an email. “Right now it’s not that easy to respond to things.”
Port Fourchon, which received direct success from the storm, is the main service center for hundreds of offshore oil and gas platforms. The port also contains oil terminals and pipelines that account for approximately 90% of the Gulf’s oil and gas production.
Photos taken by AP from a helicopter rented on Tuesday, as well as NOAA images, show extensive damage to the stretching facility, including sunken ships, collapsed structures and more than a dozen large ones. fuel storage tanks.
Ida winds, equivalent to an EF3 tornado, tore off the roofs of the port’s large steel buildings and tore down metal light poles. Trucks, cranes and transport containers were piled up in confusing piles.
Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, told AP Tuesday Tuesday that Port Fourchon-based companies were entering what would likely be a long recovery phase. One of the top priorities, he said, will be road cleaning and the removal of sunken ships so that ships can sail safely through the port.
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Associated Press investigative reporter Michael Biesecker reported from Washington. AP journalists Matthew Daly in Washington and David Koenig in Dallas collaborated.
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Follow Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck
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Contact the AP Global Research Team at [email protected].