Oil Spill Reache Texas Beaches

Officials with the Texas General Land Office said Monday that oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has washed onto state beaches for the first time. Tar balls that washed onto Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula as well as onto Galveston beaches over the weekend were tested by the state and confirmed to have come from the B.P. well that continues to spew oil into the Gulf.

The Houston Chronicle reports that there is some confusion as to how the oil actually made its way to Texas, quoting officials who said “the makeup of the oil was not consistent with having traveled 400 miles in the ocean. “ The state is currently trying to determine if perhaps the oil was transported by ships that crossed through the spill area or migrated to the Texas coast by some other means.

Texas officials have been largely silent regarding spill response though various state agencies including the Department of Public Safety and the General Land Office have been working on plans to mitigate damages since the initial accident in April. In just the past week, the G.L.O. has added an incident response section to its website including phone numbers to call to report oil on wildlife or beaches, as well as numbers to call to volunteer in cleanup efforts or to volunteer your vessel as part of the state’s cleanup effort.

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Tags: BP oil Spill, oil spill, US oil spill