BigBendFishing.Net

I was wondering if anybody has thought about creating a berm on the beaches!! Seems to me that they could put an army of bulldozers, backhoes, heck even road graders on the beaches and pile up a sand berm at the high water level and keep the oil off of the biggest part of the beach it would be a heck of a job, but it sure would keep the whole beach from being covered in oil and should make the cleanup a lot easier also I figure you would know who to float the idea to and just tell BP to write me a nice check for the idea

Another thing I wonder about is this
Why don't they use Bioremediation to treat the oil, instead of all of those toxic chemicals Just kinda thinkin out loud

http://water.usgs.gov/wid/html/bioremed.html

http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-tec ... i-16459-1/

http://republicbroadcasting.org/?p=8811

A similar berm approach in La. The "struggle" with this is 1. The berms impact the natural state of the wildlife and beaches (think turtle and birds) so benefit vs. impact have to be evaluated. 2. The berms may stop the natural "flushing" that takes place with the tides, etc and may do more harm than good.
The above being stated, all viable options are being considered and if this works over in La. and Al. I suspect it will be implemented in other areas.

As for the bioremediation applications, that is definitely an alternative when the oil hits the shore (marshes). Oil on the sandy beaches is an easy cleanup, oil in the marshes is a little more delicate, however, bioremediation applications may come in play. You just have to be careful with the correct application to ensure that you don't upset the natural state anymore than it already is, i.e. a lot of times it's actually better to let the oil sit in the marshes instead of disturbing it. Nature does a fairly good job of healing herself over time.

The gulf is a bioremediation process in play already. It is reported that we have over 40 million gallons of oil that seeps into the gulf each year. This oil is routinely handled by wave and wind action, along with bacteria that eat the oil. Breaking the oil down with dispersants helps get the oil into droplets in which the bacteria can better interact with.

Hope this helps. I get a few opportunities in the day to check the forum. In turn, I will try to respond the best I can.

Take Care,

Thanks Scoop Sea. That is some good information.
I hope we can expect to see some more post from you as we travel through this event the next few weeks.

God bless you, Sea Scoop, for the insightful info and hard work. Godspeed on the efforts you and other good folks are putting forth!!!

Thanks BBG, not to sound corny, but I am just doing my job, plain and simple.. It's what I get paid to do, yeah the hours stink right now and I wish I had the chance to spend more time with the family, BUT, I have a great wife who understands the bigger picture. I can't buy back the time I missed with the kids, but I can rest comfortably knowing that they know I am trying to protect their future. I can't stress enough, I am just one of thousands working to help minimize the damage, these thousands include locals, States, Feds, and BP staff. It truly is a team effort despite what the press conveys....
On a side note, as a former 8404 former combat corpsman, I have much respect for the service you and the others have given over the years.

Hey Scoop Sea, any idea why the use of hay to adhere it's self to the oil while in the water didn't get more attention?

Hey Rocket, there are a couple of reasons the hay approach didn't move forward for on-water application. The first being, the hay can be an attractant to some of the sea life, i.e. turtles, small fish, etc. that may end up ingesting oil due to feeding. The second being, due to wave/water action, the applicability of the hay on water is challenging. The net benefit of adding that much material into the waterways vs. the limited amount of oil it may pick up during our seasonal weather is pretty questionable at this point.
For the idea of putting hay bales along the shore, to get the oil to adhere to it, there were some major complications. One being, the hay needs to be close enough to the shore that the water will impact it. In turn, the contaminated hay bales could be washed away. The second being the hay bales could act as barriers to the nesting birds and turtles.
I know the video that CW Roberts did was really impressive looking. What we have to keep in mind is that was a very controlled environment, i.e. it was in a building, no weather actions, the oil they were using wasn't hit with dispersants, hadn't gone through 5000 feet of water (which leads to sediment impact and emulsification processes that inhibits the oil's ability to adhere to the hay)etc.

The best thing is to not have an oil spill.....That's obvious. However, when you do, the most ideal situation allows us to skim the oil off the surface, if this isn't feasible, controlled (in-situ) burns are the next choice, if those two aren't applicable, then dispersants are considered. These aren't hard fast rules, but general outlooks on how to control an oil spill. You really need good weather for all three of these things at the surface. For the hay-oil approach to work optimately you need the same type of good weather. In turn, given the choice you go with skimming/burning because it gets more oil out/off of the water than hay AND it doesn't produce another waste product (i.e. the contaminated hay).
I hope this explanation provides you some insight to the thought process being used. All alternatives are being considered and given a risk/benefit analysis. Those that are most viable will be utilized.
Once again, I remain cautiously optimistic about the top hat that went on. It will take a few days for qualified numbers to be released, but early indications are this process is going as well (if not a lil better) than expected. REMEMBER, it will only reduce the flow, not stop it. I think we all agree, if we get a reduction in oil free flowing into the Gulf, we know we are moving in the right direction. Only the relief wells will stop the flow....
Ya'll have a good day out there.