Additional layers of boom planned for bays, Deer Island

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Marine Resources announced today that additional
layers of boom will be installed in Heron Bay, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay, and
Pascagoula Bay. Work will begin this week.

State officials, BP, and the U.S.
Coast Guard received input from local officials on locations for additional
boom to augment what is already in place.

Mississippi currently has over
433,000 feet of boom, and this round will be more than 74,000 feet of boom.
The boom ranges in various sizes from 42-inch ocean boom to 18-inch regular
boom.

“We will not be satisfied until BP is doing all it can to protect our
Coast,” said MDEQ
Executive Director Trudy Fisher.
“Input from local officials was valuable as BP was able to secure
this boom to focus specifically on our river system bays. We all have
learned some helpful lessons on strategic boom placement from the booming
in Alabama and Louisiana including how they can be affected by currents and
tides.

“This additional boom is another component of BP’s efforts, and we will
continue to implement other measures to improve what is already in place.
We are doing all we can to find effective countermeasures.”

The plan calls for boom in these four designated areas:

—9,000 feet of 18-inch boom for Heron Bay;

—14,300 feet for St. Louis Bay (1,600 feet of 30-inch boom and 12,700
feet of 36-inch boom);

—26,500 feet for Biloxi Bay (16,000 feet of 18-inch boom and 10,500
of 42-inch boom) with additional protection at Deer Island to include
800 feet of 18-inch boom and 2,200 feet of 42-inch boom on the north
side of the island; and

—21,000 feet of 18-inch boom for Pascagoula Bay.

The size of the boom, as well as the length, will depend on the bay and the
water depth. For example 18 inch boom generally will have 8 inches of
flotation device and 10 inches of skirt to help catch the water. For
deeper depths, a larger boom and skirt is needed. The boom will have
moveable gates that will allow for vessel passage.