The oil spill from the April 20 explosion of a BP offshore oil-drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico has left Mississippi down, but far from out, Sen. Billy Hewes, R-Harrison, the state senate”s president pro tempore and a candidate for lieutenant governor, said Tuesday.
“What I saw was pretty disturbing,” Hewes, who chairs a special senate committee investigating the oil rig disaster, said of a Friday “fly over” the state coast to assess the damage. “The oil was not everywhere, but where we did see it, it was in vast quantities.
“We”ve been very fortunate, from an ecological standpoint, as a state and community, up to this week,” he continued. “But the oil”s here now and we have to deal with it. Some waters are still open to fish; our restaurants are still open. Economically, there are tar balls all over the state. It”s impacting folks everywhere and our tourism economy is significantly down.”
Since the oil spill, the state”s restaurant and charter fleet businesses have been down 70 percent, Hewes reported.
“It”s going to impact our budget,” he noted. “The Delta and the Gulf Coast are heavily dependent on tourism.”
Explaining the oil spill has “impacted recreational activities” and “community activities,” he emphasized the need for a continued influx of visitors to Mississippi, especially tourists.
“The message we”re giving is, ”come visit,”” he said. “Our message (to BP) is and has been you need to hire Mississippians in any way you can (for clean-up efforts). That”s the message we”re giving BP.
“Fishermen were seeing (reduced income from the oil spill) first, and now restaurants are seeing it,” he continued. “They are all being impacted, but they have resources. Can (BP) move a little faster? Overall, things aren”t moving at the pace they should move.”
The oil spill and slow clean-up efforts have been “frustrating,” especially to those living on the Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Katrina”s wrath still is felt, Hewes said.
“We”re resilient people,” he explained. “We are used to acting. The oil spill has been a lot of waiting.
“(When the spill began,) we were put into panic mode,” he added. “The oil has just now hit our beaches, probably in the last three days. We still have a lot going for us and we are very hopeful.”
Hewes noted the quality of the area”s air, water and seafood is tested on a daily basis and contaminants would not be “allowed” in “public domain.”
In addition to a call for more workers to help with clean-up efforts, he put out a call for more tourists.
“The sun”s shining; the beaches are pretty,” he said. “Beach oil is not toxic and can be disposed of very quickly. Anything on the beach can be cleaned up very quickly, so come on down. And we need folks who come on down. They”re our best ambassador, folks who come on down and tell our story for us.”
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