Louisiana Governor Jindal declares state of emergency due to oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

April 30th, 2010 - 12:20 am ICT by BNO News  

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA (BNO NEWS) — Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on Thursday declared a state of emergency and requested additional resources from the federal government as the state prepares for the potential impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A news release from the Governor’s office said the declaration was “due to the predicted impact of oil along the Louisiana coast leaking from the Deepwater Horizon which threatens the state’s natural resources, including land, water, fish, wildlife, fowl and other biota, and likewise threatens the livelihoods of Louisiana’s citizens living along the coast which increases the economic impact of this incident.”

Governor Jindal spoke with Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Wednesday evening, according to Governor’s Press office.

Louisiana “[has] asked for additional resources from the Coast Guard and BP as we work to mitigate the impact of the spill on our state,” Jindal said in a statement earlier.

According to Jindal, the Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area is expected to see the first impact of the oil spill, which increased to 5,000 barrels a day on Wednesday - five times more than the original estimate. Some fear the spill may result in the worst environmental disaster in years.

The April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig - off of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico - killed 11 people and injured 17 others. The platform later sank.

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