Texas Gulf Coast Clean and Open for Business
States to Texas’ east are suffering both environmental and economic disaster as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to thwart efforts to stop the flow of crude into the Gulf.
Although the out-of-control well is more than 200 miles from the Texas coast, state agencies that are responsible for protecting our state’s environment are on high alert.
The General Land Office (GLO) is the lead agency for responding to crude oil spills that enter, or threaten to enter, coastal waters. According to Greg Pollock, GLO Deputy Commissioner for Oil Spill Prevention and Response, the Land Office and the United States Coast Guard are monitoring the situation and will remain on standby until the crisis is resolved.
Although GLO is the lead agency, other agencies are monitoring the situation. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is charged with protecting the state’s fish and wildlife resources, which includes investigating fish kills and any type of pollution that may cause loss of fish and wildlife. Currently, no one has reported any oil-soaked wildlife in Texas coastal waters.
Unlike other states’ marshy coastlines that are being impacted by the oil spill, Texas’ coastline is primarily sandy beaches, which are more easily cleaned if tar balls do drift onto the beach. Deputy Pollock said there has been a slight westward movement of the oil, but the spewing well is far enough away that the oil should degrade into tar balls before it hits the coast.
If the spill’s westward movement increases, GLO could deploy both strings of snares to detect tar balls and silt curtains to protect washouts and beach cuts.
“Tar balls can be cleaned up quickly compared to the oil slicks that are drifting onto the shores of Louisiana and other states,” Pollock said.
The Texas Department of Agriculture is another agency that is monitoring the spill. Because the spill has not impacted Texas waters, Texas shrimp and seafood harvested off the state’s coast are still safe to eat.
In April, the Department of State Health Services temporarily closed most Texas coastal waters to the harvesting of oysters, clams, and mussels due to an algal bloom. These coastal-waters were reopened and have remained open since the danger passed.
GLO has posted a link to the latest information on the oil spill and recovery activities. The Web address is www.glo.state.tx.us and click on “Need Information Regarding Oil Spill and Response.”
Unless the situation takes a significant turn for the worse, such as a hurricane pushing the oil spill toward Texas, the biggest problem for anyone planning a summer vacation on the Lone Star State’s coast is securing a reservation.