ST. TAMMANY, La. -- St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis said late Friday afternoon, his parish secured 7,500 feet oil containment boom.
The boom will be used to stretch across two openings to Lake Pontchartrain, at the Rigolets and Chef Pass. Davis said the boom should start Saturday, May 1.
Environmental leaders say keeping oil out of Lake Pontchartrain is critical.
"We know it's going into the Chandelier, we know it's going into the Breton Sound," said Anne Rheams, the Deputy Director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, "and actually, that's better, because it'll be in calmer waters and they can boom it easier and keep skimming. But you need to fight it with everything we've got to keep it out of the lake."
"If we ever get oil into that Lake Pontchartrain Basin," Davis added, "it would be a disaster."
Because Lake Pontchartrain isn't threatened yet, Davis said his plan is to leave the boom on the banks of the lake, and stretch it across the openings when needed.
"You can't wait on these kind of things," Davis said. "As we see what's happening south of us, we can't wait for anybody else. I want to mobilize now."
He also said, if it rains on the northshore this weekend, he will not drain St. Tammany's retention ponds. He'll allow the water in the ponds to remain high.
"What I want to do it build up some head water in the north end of our parish," Davis said, "because I may have to do is use some of that as a flushing mechanism."
As the oil moves toward the booming points, the water from the retention ponds would be sent into the lake, in hopes of flushing the oil back out.
For now, there is no immediate threat to Lake Pontchartrain, but that could change next week.
Davis said his plan has the support of outgoing New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu, and he said the boom would help protect all eight parishes that surround Lake Pontchartrain.
