ST MARY STATE LEADERS FEAR OIL DURING HURRICANE SEASON

St. Mary Parish’s state leaders say the area is in harm’s way for a possible oil shower should a hurricane come this way, if things don’t get cleaned up and quick.

Senator Butch Gautreaux (D-Morgan City) blasts Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal for not quickly distributing $40 million in grants from BP, $25 million of which is reserved for clean up and another $15 million for tourism.

Gautreaux said if the oil is still present in the gulf at what has traditionally been St. Mary Parish’s target season for hurricanes – late August through mid September, the area could be in harm’s way, should a hurricane turn anywhere in the tri-parish area’s direction.

"Why is the governor holding onto that money? We need to know!" Gautreaux said. "It's incouragable that he is not spending this money," Gautreaux said.

State Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin) said Jindal has so far, spent $3 of the $25 million BP has awarded the state.

Jones, who also is wondering why such there is such a tight grip on the grant money, said one way St. Mary Parish can beef up its protection from the oil, for hurricane season, is to get all of the boom it needs to protect the coast.

“What concerns me is this oil. If it gets into the Atchafalaya Bay or the Vermillion Bay, the way of life as we know it will disappear,” Jones said. “Our estuaries will be destroyed.”

Furthermore, he said, “We could get a shower we all don’t want if the oil is in the gulf, and if we’re faced with a weather monster, also in the gulf, who knows what’s going to happen?”