After an oil spill incident occurred in the lower Mississippi River near the New Orleans area over the weekend, the Mississippi River has been reopened; Baton Rouge was not adversely impacted.
As of 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the Mississippi River reopened with restrictions, with 11 ships heading southbound, said Matthew Schofield, Joint Information Center spokesman.
“It was business as usual for us in Baton Rouge, but if it had stayed closed longer, that would’ve been a different story,” said Karen St. Cyr, Greater Port of Baton Rouge director of public affairs.
Boats can transit between mile marker 90 and 155, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Schofield said.
Schofield said the Louisiana Coast Guard wants to make sure operators move at a safe speed.
Schofield said ships are continuing to move through and the situation will change by the hour.
In response, the Louisiana Office of Environmental Health and Safety strategically deployed containment booms in impacted areas, Schofield said.
“A boom is like a wall that can collect or prevent oil from entering a certain area,” Schofield said.
The spill occurred on Saturday, when the Lindsay Ann Erickson vessel collided with the E2MS 303 tank barge, Schofield said.
Schofield said the cause of the collision is still under investigation.
Louisiana Coast Guard statements report approximately 31,500 gallons of light crude oil were discharged from Saturday’s collision.
Command of the situation is distributed across four state agencies, combining the Louisiana Coast Guard, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, the Louisiana Office of Environmental Safety and Health and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security.
In addition to this, they are working with St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes. At this time, there are no reports of oiled wildlife or exposure concerns for the public, according to Schofield.