Oil Closes New Orleans Port, Part of Mississippi River

news.yahoo.com - AP - by Janey McConnaughey - February 23, 2014

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 65-mile stretch of the Mississippi River, including the Port of New Orleans, was closed to all water traffic Sunday as crews cleaned up oil that spilled from a barge after it ran into a towboat between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the Coast Guard said.

Officials don't know how much oil spilled, but only a sheen was reported on the river following the collision, which happened Saturday afternoon near Vacherie, 47 miles west of New Orleans by land, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough. . .

. . . Public drinking water intakes on the river were closed as a precaution in nearby St. Charles Parish, officials said.

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