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BP Oil Disaster 5 Years On: An Interview With Former Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser

Billy Nungesser, Former Plaquemines Parish President, speaks to locals at Lil Gs diner in Belle Chasse.
Jesse Hardman
/
WWNO
Billy Nungesser, Former Plaquemines Parish President, speaks to locals at Lil Gs diner in Belle Chasse.
Billy Nungesser, Former Plaquemines Parish President, speaks to locals at Lil Gs diner in Belle Chasse.
Credit Jesse Hardman
/
WWNO
Billy Nungesser, Former Plaquemines Parish President, speaks to locals at Lil Gs diner in Belle Chasse.

Billy Nungesser was the President of Plaquemines Parish five years ago when the BP oil disaster happened. Nungesser’s constituency of around 23,000 residents were some of the hardest hit along the Gulf Coast.

For months after the disaster, Nungesser was a constant presence on national television, taking on both industry and government officials over their handling of the spill and cleanup.

Billy Nungesser sat down with WWNO coastal reporter Jesse Hardman at Lil Gs diner in Belle Chasse to reflect on that time, and what’s happened since then. He began by recounting a story of forcing his way into a meeting with President Obama down on Grande Isle.

Support forWWNO'sCoastal Desk comes from the Walton Family Foundation,KabacoffFamily Foundation and Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Copyright 2021 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio. To see more, visit WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio.

As the new Coastal Reporter, Jesse Hardman will draw on 15 years of worldwide experience in radio, video and print journalism. As a radio reporter he has reported for NPR, BBC, and CBC, and for such familiar programs as Marketplace, This American Life, Latino USA, and Living on Earth. He served as a daily news reporter and news magazine producer for WBEZ in Chicago.