Since the BP Oil Spill hit the coasts of Louisiana, Corpus Christi raised concerns about its readiness incase a similar crisis ever hits Nueces County coasts. In July, Texas discovered ugly tar balls on beaches in the Beaumont and Port Arthur area. Tar balls are small, dark-colored clumps of oil – often the remnants of oil spills, leakage or seepage – that stick to objects, including our feet when we walk barefoot on the beach.
For the most part, tar balls are harmless to humans. However, some people are especially sensitive to chemicals found in crude oil and petroleum products and could have an allergic reaction or develop rashes even from brief contact with oil. The discovery of tar balls in Texas brought concern to Corpus Christi citizens.
Since the tar balls have shown up, an Incident Command Post (ICP) was set up in Galveston but later moved to Texas City, just south of Houston, where it currently is. The ICP is a temporary facility serving as an on-scene incident management organization involving federal, state, local, military and other private sector personnel. Heading the ICP is United States Coast Guard Captain John R. Pasch, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi (CGS-CC).
Pasch said, "Because of the winds, currents and weather, we haven't had oil for weeks." Pasch said it is possible that the oil came in on a boat that had passed through the middle of the Gulf. He said everyone is at a heightened state of alert and the Port of Corpus Christi is monitoring boats arriving and departing Corpus Christi, checking to see if they are carrying any contamination on them. Boats found with contamination are steam cleaned before entering the Harbor.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi has been sending people to the Gulf to aid in relief and clean-up efforts. "People are rotating in and out and doing 60 day tours of duty at least for the Coast Guard," Pasch said. "We probably had anywhere from 40 to 50 people from Sector Corpus Christi going in there at one time. We have aircraft and boats and technical people up there. It just depends on their job skill."
Other non-Coast Guard workers are also lending their skills to the efforts. Raymundo Cantu is a welder from Corpus Christi who has been involved with repair efforts in the Gulf. He leaves Corpus for six weeks at a time then returns home for six weeks before going out again.
"There are a lot of challenges. You're alone for six weeks. You leave your home and loved ones. It gets old fast because you miss home," Cantu said. Cantu works with about 10 others from Corpus, but many of the other people he works with are from Louisiana, where the results of the spill have severely affected the area and done the most harm.
"I've gotten a lot of their input and a lot of them are just shocked. They're disappointed and angry, but still just so shocked," Cantu said.
Meanwhile local businesses in Corpus are also feeling the impact from the oil spill, in particular Water Street Oyster Bar. "Prices have gone up and sales have gone down," Water Street Owner Brad Lomax said.
Prior to the oil spill, Water Street had their oysters sent from the Gulf. Now Lomax says they have to get their oysters from as far as Canada, quintupling the prices. The restaurant has gone weeks at a time without oysters on the menu. For 25 years, Water Street has hosted "Oyster Happy Hour" at the bar from 4-7 p.m. during which oysters are half price. As a result of having fewer oysters, and sometimes not having oysters at all, they have not been able to consistently host the happy hour, which also hurts liquor, beer and wine sales at the bar.
"It has affected our restaurant traffic," Lomax said. While the city is feeling side effects of the Oil Spill, officials have begun preparation in case a similar crisis ever takes place closer to home. On July 9, local government and emergency response met for Corpus' first ever Oil Response Summit. There Captain Pasch said he believed Texas is the most prepared state in the U.S. for a similar event to occur.
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