Jenn LeBlanc

Three

Posted by Jenn on November 30, 2010 · 1 Comment 

I returned to the Gulf at the beginning of the month for my long term documentary work on the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. I returned to Grand Isle, where a giant sand scrubbing machine was shut down because the noise bothered the woman whose house it was parked next to, and the easternmost beach is still guarded by Louisiana State Patrol. Long Beach was mostly recovered, damage from hurricane Katrina was once again more evident than the effects of the oil spill. Dauphin Island still had a rather large contingent of workers, combing the sand while a huge machine sifted giant piles of the sand on the beach right outside the large resort. On the western edge of the island, filler from sorbent boom was washing ashore, making the sand spongy and difficult to walk on. Orange Beach also had a sand sifting and cleaning operation, but not as many workers walking the beach as Dauphin Island. The effects of the oil spill are far from gone. Right after I returned a partial ban on shrimping was enacted due to tar balls being found in nets.

My next return to the Gulf will be in February.

Dauphin Island, ©2010 Jenn LeBlanc

Orange Beach, ©2010 Jenn LeBlanc

Grand Isle ©2010 Jenn LeBlanc