Approaching nine months after the Deepwater Horizon exploded, spilling 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, sensitive marshes off the coast of Louisiana are still covered with oil. Friday, state and local representatives took the media on a tour of Barataria Bay, showing an area where the oil continues to destroy the marshes and also where protective boom is gone or has been eaten away by the oil to the point of being useless.

While Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish gave a press conference to highlight the continued destruction of Louisiana’s protective wetlands, he was interrupted by Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dan Lauer who said, “Clearly there is oil here in the marsh but we are working as a team to find a best way to clean it up…it’s a high priority.”

“It’s like you’re in bed with BP,” Nungesser replied.

Interesting…

The Coast Guard is working on a plan.

Almost 9 months later.

When asked, Lauer gave few details as to what this plan entailed. They also couldn’t explain why there are no protective measures in the marsh to keep things from getting any worse. Lauer did however emphasize that “No one has ever said, it’s over, we’re going home.”

Ah…I see, but what does BP say?

British Petroleum spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an e-mail that with the exception of the occasional tar ball, there is no evidence of significant amounts of oil from the blown out well reaching the Louisiana shoreline since the end of August.

Ah…I see, perhaps he should tell that to the residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana, where some company’s oil is continuing to wash ashore…

From the Times-Picayune: BP has scaled back its cleanup efforts from 48,000 workers during the summer to 6,000 now. That has prompted some local officials to complain in recent weeks that the work has slowed down on the heels of the 2011 tourism season. Earlier this week, Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts also complained that clean up on the beaches of Grand Isle was at “neutral.”

Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, tar balls are washing up in Perdido Key, Florida, on Gulf Shores, Alabama, and the shores of Mississippi. The oil is still coming ashore in four Gulf Coast states, but as we found out yesterday, the NOAA and the Coast Guard are working on a plan, all while BP denies and cuts down the amount of cleanup workers.

“This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America,” Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser told reporters, gesturing with his gloved right hand, which was covered in oil.

Agreed.

Have a nice day.