An aerial photograph taken Thursday, May 1, 2025, lays out the scene of an uncontrolled release from an 82-year-old well near Garden Island Bay in southern Plaquemines Parish. A brownish mix of oil, gas and water sprays from in the Bird’s Foot Delta of the Mississippi River in southern Plaquemines Parish on Thursday, May 1, 2025. The U.S. Coast Guard has enacted a safety zone in the area and almost three miles of boom was placed by Thursday to contain the released material. The well, owned and operated by Spectrum OpCo only since last year, was shut in by a previous owners in but was not permanently plugged.
