Louisiana officials say they’re not sure why there’s been a surge of oily material washing up on the coastline three years after the BP oil spill. The amount is 20 times more than what was found over the same period last year.
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources says three million pounds of oily material have been cleaned up on the coastline over the first eight months of this year. That’s well over last year’s total of about 120,000 pounds.
The state says it’s not sure if Tropical Storm Karen earlier this month exposed oil hidden under sand — or washed more ashore. BP says testing done with the Coast Guard on some recovered tar balls showed they were not from its blown-out Macondo well.
More than 200 miles of Louisiana coastline are still showing signs of oil contamination after the offshore well explosion some 3 years ago.
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