The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is continuing work to save a growing number of oiled birds.
More than 100 oiled birds have been documented from an oil spill at Alliance Refinery in Belle Chasse. LDWF says the spill is associated with damage from Hurricane Ida's path through the area.
Some of the birds have been captured and transported to a designated rehabilitation location. Job Wiebe, a biologist running the state restoration program, told the Associated Press that 10 birds were taken to the rehab location, while five additional dead birds were recovered and bagged as evidence.
According to LDWF, it may take weeks before the effort to save the birds and other animals is completed. Other wildlife observed with some degree of oiling include alligators, river otters, and nutria.
LDWF is working in partnership with the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Alliance Refinery is also assisting in the recovery.
The EPA said it has received 43 notifications of "significant inland oil spills and chemical releases" in its jurisdiction post-Ida. That's a small portion of 1,539 reports of pollution a U.S. Coast Guard hotline has received since Ida made landfall n August 29.
The AP reported the spill at Alliance Refinery on September 1 after reviewing aerial images captured by a NOAA aircraft.
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