BP, meanwhile, says it’s now aiming to seal off the well by the end of the month, weeks before the company’s public deadline. The new July 27th target coincides with BP’s date to report second-quarter earnings and speak to investors. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, a top BP official said the new target is “unlikely” and that efforts could be further complicated by the hurricane season. Oil from the well continues to reach new areas of the Gulf. In St. Tammany Parish near New Orleans, workers are cleaning up tar balls that washed into Lake Pontchartrain this week. St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis said locals had previously been hopeful the oil wouldn’t reach their area.

Kevin Davis: “From an emotional standpoint, it’s really tough. It’s tough on all of our residents throughout this whole region. This kind of in our mind was the last frontier, that we were hoping and praying we wouldn’t get any oil.”