1 Million+ Gallons Of Crude Leaks From GOM Pipeline; Coast Guard Can't Find The Leak

The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that an estimated 1.1 million gallons of crude oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico near a pipeline off the coast of Louisiana. Officials are concerned about the oil's potential impact on endangered and threatened species.

The Coast Guard first reported seeing the spill on Friday, saying that an aircrew had identified the leak. In their last update on Tuesday, officials said the leak is near the 67-mile-long Main Pass Oil Gathering company's pipeline system near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish. It was not specified when the leak began, but officials said the pipeline was closed down at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

"The volume of discharged oil is currently unknown," officials said Tuesday. "...Initial engineering calculations indicate potential volume of crude oil that could have been released from the affected pipeline is 1.1 million gallons." On Facebook, the Coast Guard said that oil was "skimmed and sampled" roughly four miles southeast of South Pass, Louisiana on Friday, at which point they retrieved about 210 gallons of "oily-water mixture." More oil was retrieved on Sunday about 13 miles southeast of the parish.

Photos of the spill show large chunky globules and long slicks of oil floating on the Gulf's surface. Plaquemines Parish officials wrote on Facebook over the weekend that they are "monitoring the incident," but have not posted any further updates. So far, it remains unclear where the oil leaked from. The Coast Guard said Tuesday that remotely operated vehicles have been deployed to survey the pipeline, but that there are "no findings of a source area at this time." "The vehicles will continue to survey the pipeline if weather conditions permit," the agency said. "The Unified Command is working diligently to determine the source of the release. There have been no reports of injuries or shoreline impacts at this time."

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oil-leak-gulf-of-mexico-endangered-species-at-risk/