NEW ORLEANS -- A pipeline spilled 18,000 gallons of crude oil in a 5-mile-long slick from a national wildlife refuge into the Gulf of Mexico, in an area so remote that its caretakers hadn't been able to get to it Tuesday.
The slick, about 200 yards wide, started in the center of the refuge, Coast Guard Lt. Stephen Nutting said. He said he had not received any reports of injured birds.
The Coast Guard said Berry Brothers General Contractors reported the spill about 1 a.m. Tuesday in the Delta National Wildlife Refuge, which covers nearly 49,000 acres of marsh in Plaquemines Parish near the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 60 miles southeast of New Orleans.
The refuge, a temporary or permanent home to hundreds of thousands of wading birds and waterfowl, is accessible only by boats which can cross the Mississippi River in an area busy with oceangoing ships.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents headquartered in Venice, 10 miles away, were not on a Coast Guard aircraft that flew over the refuge Tuesday to evaluate the damage and had not been able to get in by boat, said Christie Watkins, an agency spokeswoman in Atlanta.
"I know that some of our folks are trying to get out to the site. I'm not sure if that'll be possible or not," she said.
Chevron Pipe Line Co., which operates the pipeline, closed off the leaking section, the Coast Guard said. It said it did not know the cause but was investigating.
A news release said the Coast Guard, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office and Chevron were working together to minimize environmental impact.
According to the refuge's Web site, more than 450 producing wells are within its boundaries.
It also holds a number of bird rookeries, and provides a place for migratory birds to rest as well as winter habitat for ducks and other wildfowl.
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On the Net:
Delta National Wildlife Refuge:
http://www.fws.gov/delta/
http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id(equal)43555
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