Ellington

With the leak from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig temporarily stopped, Gulf Coast residents are breathing a sigh of relief. BP officials announced yesterday that the company had managed to cap the leaking well for the first time since April 20.

Gulfport resident Linda St. Martin, who coordinates a response task force that includes environmental organizations, businesses and coastal industries, said that the cap brings good news to Gulf Coast residents.

"We are absolutely thrilled to hear that," St. Martin said. "We need encouragement so badly, and this is a little ray of hope. ... We don't know if this is the end of it, neither does BP and neither does the Coast Guard, but it looks very hopeful."

The cap is still a temporary measure, and BP officials cautioned Thursday that the device still had to pass a 48-hour pressure test before it could be deemed a complete success. Federal scientists and company engineers are testing the cap every six hours for signs of dropping pressure, which would indicate that the well was still leaking.

If the cap passes the pressure test, BP can either leave the well capped or divert the oil to four ships on the surface. Once the cap is secure, BP can resume drilling relief wells that will allow a permanent solution to the leak.

Twice before, BP has announced progress on capping the well, only to have its efforts fail. The company first attempted to lower a containment vessel over the leak, but on May 8 announced that ice crystals were preventing the cap from working. Then on May 25, the company announced a "top kill" procedure that would stop the oil flow by pumping mud and debris into the well. By May 28, BP had deemed that effort a failure as well.

State Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, was cautiously optimistic, however, that this time would prove different.

"I know that we've been through this several times, where we thought we were close to some type of solution, and then things would not work out," Jones said. "Certainly we've been through that enough to not be overly confident. But from what I'm hearing, from experts ... it's very encouraging. All along the Coast we've gotten to a point, mentally, where we so desperately want to hear good news that, sometimes, we can allow ourselves to get carried away," Jones added. "But this time, I think we might really be onto something."

The end of the leaking well only marks a turning point in cleanup efforts along the Gulf Coast, though. Most residents expect to be fighting the spill's effects for years.

"If (the leak) has stopped, we can put every scientific and creative energy across the globe and focus it on cleaning up the Mississippi Sound, containing what we find, and getting it out of the water," St. Martin said.

Jones said that he is concerned about the lingering impact of the oil spill on the people of the Gulf Coast, both those directly affected by the spill and those with economic ties to the region. Mental health issues and domestic violence are among the many possible consequences of lost income, he said.

"The focus for me will be considering what the long-term impact will be environmentally and professionally," Jones said. "The greater likelihood is that we're dealing with this event for some time to come, and it has a lot of tentacles. This isn't a disaster that's only affected fisherman."