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BP oil spill effects still being revealed Deepwater Horizon disaster sparked 15 years of intense research
BY MIKE SMITH | Staff writer Out on the edge of Louisiana’s coast, a set of giant plant pots stand as reminders of the worst-ever oil spill of its kind. But you couldn’t tell just by looking at them. The rows of containers sit under a wood frame and netting. Inside grows the same cordgrass that carpets the marshes stretching out within eyesight of this spot, in the tiny community of Cocodrie. It’s all part of an elaborate experiment continuing to reveal some effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “There are a lot of lessons learned that will come from this,” said Brian Roberts, referencing the range of research that the spill prompted. He conceived the cordgrass experiment with colleagues. “It hopefully will help us better prepare in the event that something else happens,” added Roberts, the executive director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, as he walked elevated planks among the fiberglass containers. April 20 marks the 15th anniversary of the blowout and subsequent spill at the Macondo well off the Mississippi River’s mouth in the Gulf. The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned by
EGGS-TRA!, EGGS-TRA! ABOVE and RIGHT: Children run to collect as many Easter eggs as they can carry during an Easter egg hunt sponsored by Parish Church at Oaklawn Park in Lafayette on Saturday. The free event also featured food and games.
ä See DEEPWATER, page 4A
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP
Carter, Higgins want FDA to destroy imported seafood Legislation introduced would give agency more power
Carter, of New Orleans, and Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, of Lafayette, came together in an attempt to heighten the regulatory wall protecting Louisiana’s seafood industry from foreign imports. They introduced legislation Wednesday that gives the fed- Carter BY MARK BALLARD | Staff writer Higgins eral Food and Drug AdminisWASHINGTON — Though they tration additional powers to adulterated or misbranded. barely agree on anything po- impound and destroy imported “This bill protects consumlitically, Democratic Rep. Troy seafood found contaminated, ers from potential health risks
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and upholds the integrity of our food supply chain, while supporting Louisiana fishermen and seafood processors,” Carter said. “By granting the FDA the necessary authority to destroy food products that fail to meet our strict health and safety standards, we are closing a dangerous loophole that has allowed contaminated
ä See SEAFOOD, page 6A
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................2B Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
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STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL DeMOCKER
Fireboats try to extinguish the blaze on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that was drilling BP’s Macondo well south of Venice on April 21, 2010, after an explosion the day before left 11 workers dead and 17 injured. Oil gushed into the Gulf for 87 days as attempts to cap the well failed. In the end, an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil spilled.
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