The Well Cap is a diversion, and it worked. A Coast Guard overflight spotted heavy, emulsified oil on Sunday that appeared to be heading on a collision course with the island. It came within eight miles of the shore on Monday, before the Coast Guard said skimmers intercepted it. “We did send a fleet of skimmers out to that oil and they were able, as soon as they arrived on scene, the oil actually broke up and it broke into small particles,” said US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zunkunft, the oil spill’s federal on-scene coordinator. What the skimmers were able to capture was an oily water mix that eventually added up to just one barrel of recoverable oil. Yet, while the latest threat of oil may have avoided Grand Isle, there are worries about what may be happening underneath the surface of the water. “I’m not worried what’s on top no more,” said Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle. “I’m worried about what’s on the bottom and I still can’t get a clear answer for that. Camardelle’s fears center on so-called “oil plumes,” possibly lurking off the coast, underwater in the Gulf of Mexico. They can be hard to see from the air. The mayor said he would like to find a way to track them, using some of the vessels out on the water for the oil spill response. “We’re looking to see if we can drag some type of nets and check the bottoms — and that’s one of the things we want to check out — on the bottoms,” Camardelle said. “Because, gradually, BP’s going to pull out of here and say, ‘we …
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