Story Created:
Sep 6, 2011 at 5:06 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Sep 6, 2011 at 5:06 PM EDT
A mayor in coastal Alabama says small tar balls are washing onto the state's prime tourist beaches because of the heavy surf kicked up by Tropical Storm Lee.
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (AP) - A mayor in coastal Alabama says small tar balls are washing onto the state's prime tourist beaches because of the heavy surf kicked up by Tropical Storm Lee.
Tony Kennon, the mayor of Orange Beach, Ala., said Tuesday that the tar balls reported so far are very small. He says officials with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are already on the beach trying to assess the situation.
It is not clear where the tar balls came from. Kennon said this was the heaviest surf seen in the area since last year's Gulf oil spill.
Oil from the 2010 BP spill washed ashore and fouled Gulf Coast beaches that are popular tourist destinations.
BP officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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