Ga. senators press feds to prepare for oil on East Coast beaches

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- Georgia's senators on Wednesday joined colleagues from other East Coast states in urging federal officials to begin preparing for the potential that some oil from the Gulf of Mexico disaster may wash up on beaches in Georgia and elsewhere.

Scientists have said there's a chance that oil from the Gulf could get caught up in a "loop current" that would carry it up the Eastern seaboard.

"I want to make sure that whatever precautions need to be taken, somebody is taking them now," Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss said in an interview.

Chambliss, along with Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson and 20 other senators, asked the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security to begin planning with state officials how to handle oil if it washes up on the East Coast. They also requested that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration begin working on predictions about the long-term direction of the oil from the disaster in the Gulf.

"We need to be doing what we need to be doing now, and not wait until it becomes a danger to the East Coast," Chambliss said.

In the U.S. House, meanwhile, a University of Georgia marine scientist told a congressional committee Wednesday that even if oil from the BP disaster is eventually cleared from the surface of the Gulf and the beaches and marshes surrounding it, oil floating below the surface could continue to suffocate sea life in the Gulf of Mexico for decades.

Despite BP’s claims that most of the oil is floating to the surface and not lingering undersea, "there is oil in the water -- there's no doubt in my mind," UGA professor Samantha Joye told members of one of several House subcommittees investigating the disaster. "It's going to have an impact."

Joye, who just completed two weeks of research at the spill site, said naturally occurring microorganisms could eventually help some eliminate some of the oil lingering under the surface of the sea. But the microorganisms also have a negative effect: When they essentially eat the oil and gas floating undersea, they also deprive the water of oxygen.

Since dispersed undersea oil can't be recovered, that could result in "hypoxia" -- suffocation -- of sea life that could eventually create massive dead zones deprived of life throughout the Gulf.

"The oxygen won't be there" to support sea life, she said in an interview.

Also delivering remarks to a House subcommittee on Wednesday was Philippe Cousteau Jr., grandson of the late explorer Jacques Cousteau. Two weeks ago, Cousteau led a dive through the oil about 25 miles from the well site.

"I've seen it," he said.

Even so, BP officials continue to dispute that there are any major plumes of oil under the Gulf's surface.

"We haven't found any large concentration of oil below the surface," Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday.

Suttles' comments also run contrary to studies by NOAA, which confirmed the presence of "very low" concentrations of oil below the surface at locations miles away from the BP blowout site.

Asked about BP officials' denials, Joye said, "I'm sure their lawyers are telling them to say that."

At a news briefing in Washington, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen indicated BP is getting a better handle on containing the oil spilling from the broken well, and that new equipment is being moved to the site to help with longer-term containment.

The Coast Guard also said it will step up its oversight of how BP is handling compensation claims.

"There might be some inconsistencies in the claims process,” Allen told reporters.

President Barack Obama plans to make a fourth trip to the Gulf Coast next Monday and Tuesday.

Congress, meanwhile, is preparing to put top executives from BP and other oil companies back on the hot seat for more questioning.

A House subcommittee announced it has scheduled another hearing for Tuesday, and it has asked BP America Inc. Chairman Lamar McKay and the CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell Oil to attend.