Another Oil Leak Is Spotted in the Gulf

A wellhead in southeastern Louisiana was spewing oil up to 20 feet into the air on Tuesday morning, local officials said, at least the third unrelated oil leak in the area since the Deepwater Horizon spill began 99 days ago.
The well, owned by the state, is in Barataria Bay, about 65 miles south of New Orleans. By Tuesday afternoon, a reddish brown sheen 50 yards by one mile long was spotted near the well, according to a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard.

The wellhead is believed to have burst after being hit by a dredge barge that was being pushed by a tug boat in Barataria Bay, though the details were being investigated, said Petty Officer Tom Atkeson of the Coast Guard’s Eighth District.

A clean-up crew from a company in nearby Houma that is already involved in the Deepwater Horizon spill response was dispatched to the area, and a Coast Guard helicopter was surveying the spill. About 6,000 feet of boom was placed around the spill.

There is no indication of how much oil has leaked from the wellhead, though WWL, a local television channel, reported that it seemed to be spewing mostly gas by midday.
NyTimes