With oil from the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico continuing to show up on beaches and in wetlands along Louisiana's coast, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority passed a resolution criticizing the Coast Guard for prematurely allowing BP to pull cleanup teams from coastal areas it declares clean. The authority passed a second resolution requesting the governor's office and the state attorney general's office to brief its members on whether any of the state's criminal statutes can be applied to BP.
Drue Banta, a governor's office attorney handling leagal issues involving the spill said, "We've pretty much reached an impasse with the Coast Guard,".
The resolution requests the Coast Guard to:
- Return coastal segments for which the state has documented oiling concerns to active response, meaning BP contractors would continue to be responsible for cleaning any oil.
- Consult with the state and affected parishes involving coastal segments the Coast Guard wants to drop out of the active response program, and address their concerns before making a decision.
- Develop a long-term oil patrol and removal program for the entire coast.
The Coast Guard signed a 46-page "Gulf Coast Incident Management Team Phase III Response Activities Completion Plan," which outlines how the response to the BP spill will wind down. State officials have refused to sign off on the plan and its Phase II predecessor, contending oil continues to be found along 200 miles of the state's coastline.
In late June, a 30-foot-by-30-foot mat of solidified oil was uncovered by waves during low tide on a Grand Isle beach, and while BP contractors are cleaning that find, Banta said, similar patches of oil are likely not being seen in remote areas of the coast.
When the Coast Guard declares a segment of the coast to be out of "active recovery," local Coast Guard offices are no longer accepting reports of new oil along that segment. Instead, they request people to make the complaints to the Coast Guard's National Response Center, which has a toll-free number, 800.424.8842, and a web reporting form at http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/, and handles such complaints nationwide.