As Louisiana prepares to build sand berms along its barrier islands, a $ 360-million project that BP will pay for, the state of Texas’ General Land Office has dismissed reports of oily critters on the Texas Gulf Coast as “media hype.” But concerns remain about the toxicity of dispersants and effects of a hurricane.
Oiled birds and sea turtles did show up on coastlines as the oil came ashore, but reports of oil-soaked birds on Texas shores, which circulated last week, were due to a “clerical error,” a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman says.