As much as 1.1 million gallons of oil may have been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipeline system off Louisiana's southeast coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.
The affected pipeline has been shut down but authorities were still trying to determine the exact location and cause of the leak, officials said during a Coast Guard news conference. None of the oil has reached land so far, though its affect on wildlife was still being investigated. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife official said two oily pelicans were sighted off the Louisiana coast Saturday, but still appeared active and able to fly.
