Orange County Emergency Management Director Joel Ardoin says it was a lightning strike that started a spill of crude oil into Cow Bayou following a storm last week.
The storm hit May 29 and a tank owned by the Benchmark Co. is believed to have been struck by lightning. The oil, some 60 barrels, began to release into a containment area that would’ve held the oil, but the valve on the containment was open, allowing the oil to spill into Cow Bayou. The spill and the damage to the tank wasn’t discovered until the next day according to Ardoin.
“The waterway in the area and the boat ramp near the 105 bridge is still closed and probably will be for another week,” he said. He added the clean up will take another 3-4 weeks after making some good progress over the weekend. The oil is being contained with booms in the water that “corral” the oil and keep it from spreading further.
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