Folks on Gulf Coast confident, uneasy, about BP plug

By Frank Brandmaier Aug 5, 2010, 8:14 GMT

Venice, Louisiana - Hope and worry mix in equal parts among people of southern Louisiana even as oil giant BP Plc claimed Wednesday that a 'significant milestone' had been reached in sealing off its oil well disaster.

One thing is clear: the community feels it cannot afford to renounce the oil industry, and wants the energy giants to stay.

The charter captains and fishermen in Venice, in Louisiana's southernmost part, all say they knew the problem would be fixed.

'They have stopped it, not permanently, but they will. I am definitively confident that it will stop,' captain Owen Langridge, of Big O charters, said optimistically as BP announced the success of its 'static kill' manoeuvre in the Gulf of Mexico.

A definitive triumph seems to be within reach after the 100-day drama that has threatened the region's economy and ecology. But joy and hope are seasoned with a major dose of scepticism among those who earn a living from the sea - even if a government analysis said Wednesday things may not be as bad as most feared.

Humid heat weighs heavy on the Cypress Cove Marina in Venice. The sky is blue-grey.

'The oil sits in the marshes and is not going away soon,' retired policeman Gerard Barrois says, shrugging his shoulders.

Harbourmaster Mike Ballay is more worried about the chemical dispersants that were poured into the Gulf to break down oil globules.

'Maybe in two-three years we will have fish with only one eye,' he quips, only half-joking.

'The seafood needs to be properly tested. We have to make sure that the product is safe, then people will come back,' he says.

Over the weekend, after the authorities said the water was again safe for fishing, Ballay went out to sea. And the catch was good.

   As much as three-quarters of the oil that flowed out of the well since April has been captured, burned off, dissipated, evaporated or otherwise made harmless, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of the Interior said Wednesday.

Only 26 per cent of the spillage remains in the water or onshore, and researchers believe that this will not cause major damage, the report said.

The New York Times sounded a sceptical note, pointing out that NOAA had 'played down the size of the spill in the early days' and reminding people that federal scientists later came up with far higher estimates of the leakage.

Carol Browner, top advisor to President Barack Obama on environmental and energy issues, was optimistic.

'It was captured. It was skimmed. It was burned. It was contained. Mother Nature did her part. And that's good news,' Browner told NBC news.

However, neither Browner nor NOAA boss Jane Lubchenco says the trouble is completely over. Nobody knows the full effect of the oil spill on the ecosystem and on Gulf communities, Lubchenco said.

One of the most important questions still looming concerns the effect of the oil on the eggs and larvae of fish, crabs and shrimp. Only future generations of sea creatures will tell.

Browner stressed that the permanent closure of the well won't be finished until the parallel relief well is completed and allows cement to be forced in at the bottom of the well 5 kilometres under the floor of the Gulf. That step could take another couple of weeks.

'The static kill is going well, but ultimately, it's the relief wells we ordered drilled that will be the 'final kill-kill',' Browner said.

In economic terms, things were picking up since the damaged wellhead was provisionally sealed in mid-July. In recent days, there have been 20 to 25 charter boat bookings, says captain Langridge.

His regular charter business collapsed on May 1, at the start of the main season, when ocean outings were ordered cancelled. Langridge says payments from BP to transport employees and officials somewhat buoyed the Big O's income.

Others at the Cypress Cove Marina have similarly kept afloat by transporting volunteers and media around the region. That also goes for hotels and restaurants, which are booked full. New arrivals must camp. Up the road, a sign says, 'Oil spill camper welcome.'

Venice residents, including fishermen, agree on one thing: the oil industry should not go away. Fishers and oilmen have always worked well together and helped each other, and should continue to do so.

Along Highway 23, from New Orleans to Venice, refineries and oil field suppliers mark the way.

'Venice wouldn't be Venice without oil,' says harbourmaster Ballay.

'We dont want them to stop drilling,' agrees captain Langridge. 'They need to keep drilling. A moratorium is the worst thing that could happen.'