On March 29, 2013 the residents of Mayflower, Arkansas, a small town about twenty five miles from Little Rock, were devastated by an oil leak from a pipeline buried beneath their feet. The Pegasus pipeline, running from the Athabasca Oil Sands in Canada, ruptured spilling thousands of gallons of crude tar sand oil all over the tiny town of Mayflower. Over six months later, Mayflower residents are still feeling extreme adverse effects to their health, their animals, both wild and domesticated, and their delicate ecosystem. Liberal America sat down, in an exclusive interview, with Mayflower resident and oil activist, Genieve Long, to understand how Mayflower is doing, six months later.
Thank you for taking your time to interview with Liberal America today, Genieve. Start off by telling us a little about yourself and your current activities with Mayflower Arkansas Oil Spill.
I am a resident of Mayflower and have been my entire life, 28 years. I am also a full time college student. I was raised in this town and I am also raising my four children in Mayflower. I have helped facilitate, (with FCCAG assistance), six events with nationally known oil spill authorities and locally?affected?families. We also put together 30 day events to help spread the word and information about the spill. I have worked with Tom Steyer about four times, and also Rocky Kistner from National Resource Defense Council. I am continuously participating in interviews and documentaries about the oil spill, and I run a Facebook page called Mayflower Arkansas Oil Spill.
Tell us what the first day of the oil spill was like as a resident, what did you see, smell, hear? What did you notice from the other citizens of Mayflower?
It was chaos. The smell was so strong that it would take your breath away and instantly give you a headache. There was no escaping the smell. After a few short minutes your eyes would start burning, you became nauseated, and dizzy. You could hear sirens coming from all directions. The city’s volunteer fire department, police department, and street department were all in full swing to help the town until Exxon assistance made it here. You could see a river of Tar Sands running through the town. The tar sands were probably about 2 to 3 feet deep running through our drainage system and into the cove. As it flowed, the oil was leaving chunks of tar behind, staining the grass, concrete, asphalt, and dirt.
What attempts were made by Exxon to clean up the spill and how long did it take them to get there?
Exxon made it to Mayflower within 24 hours of the rupture.??Exxon had started deploying booms, laying out (paper towel like) absorbent pads, had multiple vacuum trucks, and also a lot of workers were on the ground in a number of areas. The vacuum trucks were there to suck up as much oil and water mixture as possible. The oil and water mixtures and debris from affected areas were stored in storage tanks in different phasing areas. Exxon also shut down the Pegasus pipeline 18 miles north of the rupture and 18 miles south of the rupture. However, as of now the presence of workers are maybe a dozen?on any given day for only a few hours at a time.
Since the spill, what effects have you seen toward human health and the environment?
The ecosystem in the cove is devastated. Exxon has cut down trees, scrapped the land, and killed snakes. Ducks, fish, turtles, frogs, and other various animals including some family pets have been found covered in oil.??Human health effects have been Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, respiratory distress, rashes, joint pain, burning eyes, confusion, and migraines just to name a few.
What still needs to be done in Mayflower, Arkansas?
There are people here that are still suffering from the spill. We need health assessments with trained physicians on chemical exposure; that are free for the residents. In no way shape or form has all the oil been recovered, sediment cleaned, ecosystem restored. There needs to be more people on the ground to keep cleaning to restore Mayflower and it’s vital ecosystems.
What is the local government doing, if anything, to assist the residents of Mayflower?
Local government hasn’t done anything to assist the residents. There were only 22 homes that were evacuated. We haven’t received compensation for doctor bills or anything like that. Even though Mayflower was declared a disaster area we haven’t gotten any Red Cross assistance. We were even told that we are not eligible for FEMA assistance. There is a huge lack of participation in the cleanup and no one seems to want us to have any information.
Even though the spill in Mayflower Arkansas was classified as a major oil spill, very little is being done to restore the town, an act that may prove to be harder than what Exxon says. Though the bulk of the oil on streets and houses was picked up, oil that sank into the ground, and spilled into waterways sits unattended, keeping vital ecosystems from renewing themselves. The residents of Mayflower have been left in dismay, with serious health conditions, land too dangerous to use, and with no help to guide them through this crisis. Exxon, since the beginning, has refused to field any media questions, or take any hard responsibility for this devastating event. There is currently no word on whether Mayflower will ever receive any more assistance.
Edited and published by CB
