FAIRHOPE, Ala. — President Barack Obama has wrapped up his fourth trip to the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded and sank in late April. The trip through Baldwin and Mobile counties on Monday came on the heels of oil being discovered in Mobile Bay.

Oil sheens and globs of emulsified oil were spotted Sunday and Monday as far north as Battleship Parkway, also long known to locals as the Causeway.

Of particular concern was oil seen Sunday near Gaillard Island, adjacent to the Mobile Ship Channel. The island is home to one of the coast’s largest brown pelican rookeries, and nesting there is under way.

Marine One landed in Theodore just before 2 p.m. Monday, and the president travelled to the nearby Patriot Environmental Services Inc. The company is an environmental management and cleanup firm based in Long Beach, Calif., amd has been hired by BP to clean, stage and repair boom at the facility on the Theodore Industrial Canal.

According to a pool reporter, Obama was accompanied by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen and Walt Dorn, director of emergency services for Patriot Environmental Services.

He toured the boom staging area and talked to workers in hazmat suits who were decontaminating boom using pressure washers. Noise from the washers prevented press from hearing the conversations, but the president spent about 10 minutes watching them clean boom and talking to workers.

Obama spoke to around 20 Patriot employees attending a training session under a tent outdoors, and encouraged them to follow all safety precautions. He said, “It’s tough. It’s hot out here. It’s a lot of stress, but it is absolutely critical what you are doing. This is not going to be a one-day affair or a one-week affrair. It’s going to take a while,”

The president then went to a boom-repair warehouse where about 25 workers were working on boom laid out along a row of long, wooden tables. He greeted the workers and also thanked them for the work they were doing.

Speaking minutes later to gathered media, Obama said, “I had a chance during the discussions with the state and local officials to reiterate to them what I’ve been saying all across the coast, and that is that we want to coordinate at every level — federal, state and local — to make sure that we are leaving no stone unturned in terms of our ability to respond to this crisis.”

He acknowledged the loss being felt by coastal residents, saying, “There’s a sense that this disaster is not only threatening our fishermen and our shrimpers and our oystermen, not only affecting potentially precious marshes and wetlands and estuaries and waters that are part of what makes the Gulf Coast so special — there’s also a fear that it can have a long-term impact on a way of life that has been passed on for generations.”

The president said he understands that fear, and commended Riley for being a regular presence since the disaster began, as well as an advocate for the state. He also reaffirmed the federal government’s committment to working with local officials in the recovery process.

For the complete report, read the June 16 edition of the Fairhope Courier.