On his blog BPOilslick,John L. Wathen,

aka Hurricane Creekkeeper, posts pictures of contractors covering up the oily beaches in Gulf Shores, Alabama with fresh sand. (Which may make things look pretty for the tourists, but doesn't do a damn thing about the toxic dispersant in the water.) Heather pointed out other instances last week.

Now, a semi-plausible case might be made for covering up the oil to serve the tourist trade, I suppose -- but why would you want people swimming in that water? (Anyone remember "Jaws"?) And more importantly, why are they lying to us about what they did?

US Coast Guard issued a press release claiming that no covering of oiled beach was occurring. I sat in my motel room in Orange Beach and watched as multiple pieces of heavy equipment excavated sand and hauled it up the beach and used it to cover oiled sections of beach. While contractors drove bulldozers, front end loaders, screening tractors and various kinds of equipment on beaches known for Turtle nesting. I watched them from about 11:00 P.M 07/02/10 until about lunch the next day excavating the beach under cover of darkness. There was a stand of ponded water with oil and so called "Tar Balls" which was covered with sand from another area. U. S. Coast Guard issued a press release stating that this is not happening. USCG uniformed men sat in ATV buggies and watched. I saw them and photographed them. Why is our Coast Guard playing toady to BP? Are they nothing more than oil lackeys?

Go look at the rest of the pictures. Fascinating...