在密西西比河延伸80哩的河岸上，工作人員正努力遏制和清理從紐奧良下游到墨西哥灣的超過419,000加侖範圍之石油外洩意外。
這起意外發生在7月23日接近紐奧良市中心，一艘掛著賴比瑞亞旗幟的油輪Tintomara和另一艘被拖船推動的美國商業駁船航運公司的船隻相撞。這個意外將61英尺的美國船隻撞成兩半，而大量的石油從船隻中洩出到Huey P. Long橋北方鄰近Harahan的河面上，而油輪本身並沒有受損。
美國海岸防衛隊封鎖了密西西比河下游的船隻航行，被撞毀的駁船半淹沒在水面下，目前尚無人員傷亡的報告。
海岸防衛隊已證實該拖船的所有船員都沒有在密西西比河航行的執照，Mel Oliver拖船的代表表示在意外發生的當時並沒有持有適當執照的人員在場。拖船上工作人員和油輪上航行員的姓名還沒有公布，Laurin Maritime of Houston公司擁有Tintomara，負責運送聚苯乙烯和生質燃料，海岸防衛隊現在正與路易斯安那州環境品質部、路易斯安那州石油外洩協調辦公室、石油外洩回應組織和國家海洋環境管理局合作來解決石油外洩的問題。
將近9英里的禁航柵欄由石油外洩回應組織所部屬，接下來還會有額外29,000英尺的柵欄，這些柵欄的目的是為了保護當地脆弱的野生生物棲地和飲用水的取用管道。
石油外洩回應組織正在使用備有真空吸塵器的卡車和石油撈網來處理漏油。漏出的油是商業用的燃油，比一般的燃油輕，也蒸發得更快，海岸防衛隊表示。
「海岸防衛隊一直和中央和地方密切合作，還包括航運業、石油外洩回應組織和沉船打撈公司減少污染帶來的衝擊，以及儘快重新開放密西西比河下游的商業交通航行」紐澳良區指揮中心的中尉指揮官馬欽（Michael Mckean）表示，目前沼澤地區沒有災害傳出。
國家交通安全委員會的主席柔森克（Mark Rosenker）和一個安全檢測6人小組上7月23日到達紐澳良調查這起意外。
路易斯安那州環境品質部的緊急回應小組注意到所有郡的用水都被石油外洩所影響，所有的郡關閉了取水口，且所有的取水口周圍都設立了柵欄。路易斯安那州健康與醫療部的官員鼓勵Algiers, St. Bernard, Dalcour和Belle Chase區的居民開始儲水，因為取水口已被關閉。
這些取水系統都有備用水，但是一旦備用水用盡且自來水的抽樣結果也顯示高量的污染物，州長辦公室的國土安全和緊急預備部門會依各郡的要求送水到受影響的區域。
在高交通流量例如Riverwalk和French Quarter的空氣監測仍在進行中，DEQ有一個緊急回應小組帶著可攜式的空氣監測器在紐澳良區受影響的河段監測，結果顯示碳氢化合物的指數低。
Crews are struggling to contain and clean more than 419,000 gallons of fuel oil from an 80 mile closed stretch of the Mississippi River that extends from New Orleans downstream to the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil spilled early Wednesday near downtown New Orleans when the 600-foot Liberian-flagged oil tanker Tintomara collided with an American Commercial Lines barge that was being pushed by a tug, the Mel Oliver.
The collision split the 61-foot barge in half and the oil spilled from the barge into the river at mile marker 98, near Harahan, just north of the Huey P. Long Bridge. The tanker was not damaged.
The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Lower Mississippi to all vessel traffic following the spill. The barge is partially submerged and is being kept in place by tugboats. No injuries have been reported.
The Coast Guard has confirmed that none of the tug's crew had the licenses that are required to operate on the river. Representatives from the tug Mel Oliver report that "there were no properly licensed individuals on the vessel during the time that the incident occurred," the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The tug operator's name and the name of the river pilot aboard the tanker have not been released. Laurin Maritime of Houston owns the Tintomara, which was carrying styrene and biodiesel fuel in separate compartments. The Coast Guard is working with Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordination Office, oil spill response organizations, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to address the spill.
Nearly nine miles of containment boom has been deployed by the Oil Spill Response Organization, which is awaiting the deployment of an additional 29,000 feet of boom.
Booms also were deployed to protect sensitive wildlife habitats and to protect drinking water intake pipes.
Contracted oil spill response organizations are using vaccum trucks and oil skimmers to pick up the spilled oil.
The fuel oil that was spilled is a commercial fuel oil that is lighter than regular fuel oil and dissipates more quickly, the Coast Guard says.
"The Coast Guard continues to work very closely with state and local agencies, the maritime industry, oil spill response organizations and salvage companies in an effort to mitigate the pollution impact and to reopen the Lower Mississippi River to commercial traffic as soon as practical," said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Mckean, chief of the Sector New Orleans Command Center. No damage to the marshlands has been reported at this time, he said.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker and a six-person team of safety investigators arrived in New Orleans late Wednesday to investigate the incident.
Emergency responders from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality have notified all parishes affected by the oil spill so that they could take action to protect their water intakes. Parishes shut down their intakes and booms have been deployed around the intakes.
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital officials are urging residents in the Algiers, St. Bernard, Dalcour and Belle Chase water systems to conserve water, as the intakes have been shut down.
These systems have water reserves, but if the reserves run out, and sampling of the finished water shows elevated contaminants, contracts with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to deliver water to the affected areas could be activated at the request of the individual parishes.
Air monitoring, in high traffic areas, such at Riverwalk and the French Quarter, is ongoing. The DEQ has emergency responders with a portable air monitor moving around New Orleans where the river is impacted. The air monitor shows low readings of hydrocarbons below any action levels.
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