WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) – State officials have closed the beach and parts of Beach Boulevard in Waveland due to huge amounts of tar balls washing up on the shore and on the road.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has closed the beach from Nicholson Avenue to the Silver Slipper Casino at Bayou Caddy.
DEQ Director Trudy Fisher told WLOX News, “There’s more coverage than we’ve seen anywhere. You can’t walk anywhere on the beach without walking on it, stepping on it.”
Fisher said the water is up to the seawall, bringing much more of the oily material to shore. Fisher also said they have had to close the section of Beach Boulevard from Nicholson Avenue to Silver Slipper Casino.
County crews are working to clear the tar balls off the road first, so they can get traffic moving again.
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors and the Emergency Management Director agreed the beach must be closed. People will not be allowed on the beach in the closed area.
Fisher says it will take at least two days to clean up the beach.
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