New Orleans: Oil from the giant slick in the Gulf of Mexico has now soiled more than 160 kilometres of Louisiana coastline, the state's governor has said, more than doubling the previous estimate.
Governor Bobby Jindal said at a news conference that the extent of oil slick damage was "to date, more than 100 miles of shoreline, more than the entire coastline of (neighboring states) Mississippi and Alabama combined."
"And we don't have time to wait," said Jindal, who has pressed for federal approval of a plan to dredge up berms to protect Louisiana marshland, a prime breeding ground for fish
and wildlife.
Earlier yesterday, the Louisiana state government estimated the extent of oiled coastline at 45 miles. Jindal said he received the higher estimate yesterday morning.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, May 27, 2010, 12:32