WILLIAMS:
Good evening.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
While millions of Americans are enjoying a little extra
Fourth of July
vacation time on this 5th of July, for millions more in the gulf region this holiday weekend was unlike any other, and they know if life is ever going to return to normal there, that oil has to be turned off and cleaned up. In the meantime, and with every passing minute, there's more of it in those waters. It didn't help last week's passing hurricane pushed the slick even closer to land, with choppy seas that slowed down the cleanup. The oil still billows up and out, only partially contained by that dome. And on the beaches this was a desolate weekend of financial ruin for some folks. This spill has cost
BP
$3.12 billion so far. There's more where that came from, more oil and more of that
BP
money. We begin our reporting tonight with
NBC
's
Thanh Truong
. He's at the
naval air station
in
Belle Chasse
,
Louisiana
, tonight.
Thanh
, good evening.
THANH TRUONG reporting:
Brian
, good evening to you. Today in
Texas
officials say they found the first known tar balls from this
oil spill
on their beaches. We boarded a chopper with the
Coast Guard
to see firsthand the efforts to contain the oil. Through the rain we fly towards the leak site.
Rear Admiral PAUL ZUKUNFT:
Nothing is ever certain with these
weather systems
.
TRUONG:
Rear Admiral
Paul Zukunft
says weather dictates so much. Rough seas recently sidelined skimming for five days.
Rear Adm. ZUKUNFT:
Every minute you lose is that much more oil going into the
Gulf of Mexico
.
TRUONG:
Moving closer to the
US Coast Guard
cutter
Resolute
, the converted supertanker
A Whale
comes into view. So do streamers of oil. The giant skimmer, 10 stories high and three football fields long, has a capacity to take in 500,000 barrels of oily water every 10 hours. But
Zukunft
says it has weaknesses. It needs more trial runs.
Rear Adm. ZUKUNFT:
The biggest challenge, and as we've flown over here, the oil is widely distributed in narrow bands. A
Whale
is
1100
feet long, and maneuverability is a critical aspect.
TRUONG:
Through the rain you can see the
Helix
producer. It's the third containment vessel and it's scheduled to come online on Wednesday. Combined with two other containment vessels, they'll be able to capture more than 53,000 barrels of oil a day.
Rear Adm. ZUKUNFT:
Right now we're looking at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. If we're able to intervene at the source, it will then give us a good indication of what that flow rate really is.
TRUONG:
A permanent fix is riding on the drilling of two relief wells.
BP
says it may seal the gusher by the end of this month, ahead of a previous mid-August estimate.
Zukunft
says it's too soon to say.
Rear Adm. ZUKUNFT:
You've got a seven-inch pipe trying to intercept another seven-inch pipe from three miles away. So it would be premature to get our expectations up that that can happen earlier.
TRUONG:
And the other concern today is that small tar balls have been spotted in the far eastern side of
Lake Pontchartrain
in
Louisiana
, prompting local officials to close off the fishing areas around that site. And the reason why there's so much concern about
Lake Pontchartrain
,
Brian
, is that it touches five parishes. If more oil gets in there, it worsens this disaster.
WILLIAMS:
Not to mention even more wildlife.
Thanh Truong
down in
Belle Chasse
,
Louisiana
, starting us
“ ”