Lake Pontchartrain and the entrances to Lake Pontchartrain are free of BP oil, at least for now.
About a month ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began placing Snare Sentinels around Lake Pontchartrain and the entrances to Lake Pontchartrain.
There are now 69 Snare Sentinels in and around the Lake, with more planned for Lake Borgne.
"They're strategically placed based upon the currents in the Lake," St. Tammany Emergency Manager Dexter Accardo said Tuesday, "and there's been no activity."
The Snare Sentinels consist of a floating buoy on top with a rope suspending pom pom-shaped boom are varying depths underwater.
So far, all 69 Snare Sentinels have found zero oil.
"It's a tremendous thing," said Dr. John Lopez, the Director of Coastal Sustainability for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. "I think we can start to feel some relief that at least we're not going to have that direct impact of oil coming in."
The wildcard, according to Dr. Lopez, is if a storm churns up oil out in the Gulf of Mexico and moves it
towards Lake Pontchartrain, but for now, he said, so far, so good.
"We're not seeing any oil out in the Mississippi Sound," Dr. Lopez said. "The snares are not showing any oil, and they're continuously monitoring. So it looks like we have a greatly reduced threat here."
"Not seeing oil is a very positive thing," Accardo adds. "We are optimistic, but we have to be cautiously optimistic."
St. Tammany leaders said, it's too soon to drop their guard.
They want all oil fighting assets to remain until after hurricane season is over.
The hope is that between now and then, the Snare Sentinels will continue to find Lake Pontchartrain oil free.
