BILOXI — Gov. Haley Barbour on Wednesday said Mississippi has been lucky, but the state can’t count on its good fortune to last, particularly if south winds continue to blow on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Barbour called for more people to join the 9,000 who have volunteered to help so far in the event the area has to be cleaned up from the massive spill.
“We have prayed for the best, but prepared for the worst,” Barbour said. “So far, our prayers have been answered, but we are not assuming that we’re not going to have more movement in our direction, particularly with the wind being out of the south right now. If it stays that way for several days, we could have an incursion onto our area.”
If the oil breaches Mississippi’s protections, Barbour said much help will be needed. He urged residents to sign up for the required hazmat training now. He said four hours of training are needed for those who just want to help, but anyone interested in supervising the cleanup will have to take 40 hours of hazmat training. If the oil arrives, those volunteers would need to be deployed quickly.
Barbour would like to see more boats signed up to work alongside the 315 vessels enrolled to help with the cleanup.
Barbour also echoed local officials, saying the Mississippi Coast is still open for business, despite perceptions the widely covered oil spill has created.
He said some media reports are comparing it with the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill; this has led to canceled vacations and charter boat trips, hurting the economy.
“Let me just tell you a fact — our waters, our barrier islands, our beaches, our golf courses are just like they were a month ago,” Barbour said. “They are just like they were before this oil well blew out. The oil well is 108 miles south of Gulfport and there hasn’t been any oil anywhere near where the tourists would go.”
Read more: The Sun Herald
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