Clean Beaches by the New Year

You don't have to look hard to find tar balls on any Baldwin County beach. The sand is stained from high tide lines to the waters edge. Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon wants all that cleaned up in four months. "What I made clear to them, I don't necessarily care how you get there, the beaches need to be clean by January first and ready for next year. We have no room for error whatsoever."
That was the message BP's newly named chief operating officer Mike Utsler got when he met with the mayor one on one. "The beaches two weeks ago and we walked them again today and they continue to look extremely good. We got teams working out there everyday both early morning and late at night to continue to keep those beaches clean from those episodic tar balls that we're seeing in some places."
They are calling that "stage 2" of clean up efforts, a more cosmetic cleaning. Stage three: deep cleaning the sand and removing sub surface oil.
"As long as they have things clean by January first I don't care who they bring out there and what they do just get it done."
Utsler says the beaches look good now. "Overall we've got a long ways to go to continue to insure they stay that way.
But for Kennon that's not good enough. "I hope they understand it. Because we cannot lose another season, we cannot lose another season."