Oil hit the Mississippi shore for the first time Sunday, as “large patches” of thick oil washed onto two of the state’s tourist beaches. Wildlife officials also picked up a pelican covered in oil. State officials and the Coast Guard said they are waiting on BP contractors before the cleanup effort can begin: “We cannot clean up or catch the oil until BP gets here,” Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Earl Etheridge said. “They have all of our people they have all the money.” [Reuters]
