Agencies responding to La oil spill

Posted: Oct 24, 2009 10:51 PM by Jthibodeaux
Updated: Oct 24, 2009 10:51 PM

The Coast Guard says it's helping coordinate cleanup of a 200-gallon oil spill in a marsh near the Port Sulfur High School.

The spill was reported Friday, and the Coast Guard says an investigation team responding found the spilled crude along about 3,000 feet of shoreline. The Coast Guard attributes the south Louisiana spill to high tides that caused oil to spew from a hole in an abandoned wellhead.

The Coast Guard says an official for the state will assess the wellhead Monday and make plans to secure the hole.

The Coast Guard and state Department of Natural Resources are overseeing the cleanup from the shoreline.

The Coast Guard says a company hired for the cleanup work has been encircling the wellhead with absorbent materials and containment boom.

AP-NY-10-24-09 1827EDT

Topics: 200-gallon oil spill, marsh, Port Sulfur, High School, Coast Guard, Department of Natural Resources