Jindal says oil spill should be combated like a war

Saturday, July 03, 2010, 12:21 PM

Allison Good

The Times Picayune

Gov. Bobby Jindal and Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser called on the federal government Friday to treat the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico as a war. 

"We saw a lot of the boom rendered ineffective, and a lot of it was washed ashore and broken apart," said Jindal, who arrived at the news conference at Cypress Grove Marina in Venice following a boat tour of Redfish Bay. "With Hurricane Alex, we saw oil go above that boom, so we need to fight this 15 to 20 miles off the coast before it gets into the wetlands."

Jindal also said the federal government must approve rock jetties to protect Barataria Bay and the other passes, which were left defenseless during the hurricane.

"It's taken them over a month to decide whether rocks in the water is dangerous," he said. "Somebody in Washington, D.C., needs to understand that rocks in the water is less dangerous than oil in the water."

Additional frustrations caused by the federal government's decision to halt the construction of sand berms one week before Hurricane Alex were only augmented by idle skimmers.

"We know there are redundant booms and skimmers sitting there because of the red tape," Jindal said.

He also announced a new initiative intended to make the process of deploying skimmers more effective by holding the Coast Guard more accountable. National Guard teams will assist the Coast Guard deploy skimmers in Terrebonne, Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St. Tammany Parishes, he said.

Nungesser said new skimmers will be tested on the water next week.

"We will ask BP to approve 300 new skimmers to be attached to fishing vessels," he said.

At the news conference, Jindal also called on President Barack Obama to "get in this war to win it," because the reality is that even if the leak is capped, oil will be hitting Louisiana's coastline for "months, not days and weeks."

"Our message to the federal government is lead or get out of they way," he said.

While Jindal focused on the long-term, Nungesser worried about how current weather patterns will affect the cleanup efforts.