EDGE Fire Island

As outrage over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues to grow, local officials maintain they are prepared to deal with any crude that could potentially enter area waters.

Suffolk County executive Steve Levy met with Legislator Tom Cilmi [R-Islip] and representatives from the county’s Departments of Environment and Energy, Emergency Services, Public Works and other agencies in Hauppauge on June 7 to discuss the "worst-case scenario," which is oceanic currents could transport some of the oil up the Eastern Seaboard. Officials said they would use controlled burning, vacuuming and booms in Shinnecock, Moriches and Fire Island Inlets to contain and clean-up any oil. And while Levy stressed to the News the chances of oil fouling local waters remain extremely low, he said the county remains prepared.

"The best case scenario is it all goes out to the ocean before it ever reaches us, but just in case, we want to be ready," added Levy.

Levy said an oil tanker that sinks off the South Shore would have a potentially far more devastating impact on the beach than the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The News spotted several of these vessels from the beach on a recent Saturday afternoon, but Levy said the Deepwater Horizon disaster provides an opportunity for Suffolk officials to review their disaster preparedness plans if a spill were to take place locally.

"This isn’t a wasted effort," he said. "Even [if] oil never makes its way to Long Island, we still want to have an updated plan in case a tanker sprung a leak in our midst."

Tens of millions of gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank off the Southern Louisiana coast in April. British Petroleum has come under scathing criticism, but a growing number of politicians and Gulf residents have criticized the Obama administration’s response to the disaster.

Congressman Tim Bishop defended the U.S. Coast Guard, the agency that continues to direct the government’s response, at a Fire Island Pines fundraiser on June 19. And he further described Adm. Thad Allen as a "first rate guy."

"I’m comfortable with the Coast Guard in charge," said Bishop.

Congressmen Steve Israel and Peter King and Bishop recently wrote Lamar McKay, chair and president of BP America, to request the company develop and implement a "comprehensive plan" to address the potential consequences of oil, if it were to reach New York. They also asked Dr. Jane Lubchenco, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to forecast the possibility of any oil reaching the state’s coastline, but Bishop sarcastically described BP’s response.

"We’re still waiting for that answer," he said.

Back on the beach, the mere thought of tar balls and oil potentially impacting area waters remains a concern for many Fire Islanders.

"It’s like the creature from the black lagoon," said Gerry Stoddard, president of the Fire Island Association.

FINS Superintendent Chris Soller told the News the Seashore would work with the Coast Guard in the unlikely event any of the oil reaches the beach.

"They’re all set up to do that, that’s their job," he said.

Meanwhile, Stoddard stressed the disaster provides a stark reminder beaches and other coastal areas remain a particularly valuable "asset to the nation."

Levy localized this reality even further.

"We have a very sensitive ecosystem on the island, and tourism is a billion dollar industry in Suffolk," he said. "You don’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg."