Oil sheen ‘barely visible’ at site of 14-year-old leak
is meeting federal containment standards,” Capt. Kristi Luttrell said in the Coast A chronic sheen has Guard’s statement. “At this become “barely visible” time the system is working since government contractors and the once (predominantly) installed a new underwater large surface sheen has been system for capturing reduced to barely visible.” and collecting crude at a site Taylor Energy Co. ultimately in the Gulf of Mexico where is responsible for ending oil has been leaking for 14 the leak at the site 11 miles years, a Coast Guard official off Louisiana’s coast where said Thursday. one of its oil platforms toppled
A Coast Guard statement during a 2004 hurricane. describes the installation of The New Orleans-based the subsea containment system company sued Luttrell in as a “major milestone” in December, attempting to challenge long-running efforts by the federalgovernmenttocontainthe her order in November to design and install a leak. More than 30,000 gallons new system to capture and of oil has been recovered remove the crude before it since the system began operating, forms slicks that often have government attorneys stretched for miles. said in a court filing Tuesday. Taylor Energy “looks forward
“After monitoring the system to receiving the information for several weeks we needed to confirm have determined that the system the Coast Guard’s statement, which, if accurate, is encouraging,” said a statement released Thursday by a company spokesman.
Justice Department attorneys, who represent Luttrell in Taylor Energy’s federal suit, said in Tuesday’s court filing that the containment system’s collection tanks have been pumped three times and the recovered oil has been transported to shore.
“Based on the amount of oil captured to date, the Coast Guard is preparing a standard operating procedure for containment operations and maintenance,” they wrote.
The government lawyers said they intend to file a request by May 24 for the court to dismiss the case against Luttrell, arguing the company’s claims are moot given the “progress of work at the site.”