Oil washes ashore in Texas

(BP's "mistake" has now washed ashore in my home state. Tell me, Gov. Rick Perry: What say you, now?--jef)

Tar balls from oil spill found on Bolivar coastline
By HARVEY RICE and PURVA PATEL
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Officials have confirmed that tar balls discovered over the holiday weekend on Crystal Beach in the Bolivar Peninsula are from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, marking the first time oil from the spill has been found on Texas beaches.

About 10-12 tar balls washed up on Crystal Beach on Saturday. On Sunday, 5 gallons of oil were also found on the same beach.

The tar balls ranged from the size of a dime to a golf ball.

After workers cleaned the beach, the tar balls and oil were sent to labs to be analyzed. Officials confirmed that the oil was from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

However, officials said the makeup of the oil was not consistent with having traveled 400 miles in the ocean. Investigators are looking it into the possibility that the oil might have been carried on the side of a ship or in the bilge of a ship that had taken in water.

More tar balls were found scattered along 1.5 miles on East Galveston Beach on Sunday. Officials have not confirmed the source of those tar balls, and are expecting test results on Tuesday.
Tilman Ferttita, CEO of Landry’s Restaurants, said he’s not so worried about the tar balls because they’re a common sight in Galveston. He’ll be concerned though, if it continues and swells into a problem like it has in other states along the Gulf Coast where his chain of seafood restaurants operate.

Landry’s has restaurants on Galveston. And a separate business controlled by Fertitta owns the San Luis Hotel, Hitlon and IHOP restaurant there. Landry’s also owns the Kemah Boardwalk, a spot often visited by tourists.

Landry’s has lost millions in sales and suffered from higher seafood pricing since the spill occurred, he said, adding that the company is in the process of reviewing possible claims against BP.

The company buys much of its seafood from suppliers around the world, so it hasn’t been as heavily impacted by local price jumps as others, he said. But as contracts run out, he expects to also be hit with higher prices.

"We’re suffering a huge impact now, but it will only get larger," he said. "We hope Galveston continues to be a non-issue."

If the tar balls found in Galveston are related to the oil spill, the key will be figuring out how they got here, said Roschelle Gaskins, a spokeswoman for the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Coast Guard, as late as last week, had told the bureau that oil from the spill was not predicted to reach Galveston, she said.

The bureau’s beach patrol had spotted tar balls on East Beach Sunday, she said, but noted that "tar balls are not uncommon on our beaches, especially when we’ve had such high tides."

Meanwhile, as the Coast Guard continues its investigations, the beaches are still open and safe to swim in, she said.

"We did have a good Fourth of July weekend and as this develops, we’ll keep tourists informed," she said.

A spokeswoman for Moody Gardens declined to comment.