There was an auto-shut off, it malfunctioned. Unfortunately it's waaay down at the bottom

The spill has hit Chandelieur National Wildlife Refuge - a refuge on barrier islands. It's also hit the jetties on the South Pass shipping channel of the Mississippi River. FYI - the most common one used by the big ships is Southwest Pass.

To get an idea of what the Miss River delta looks like, stick you left arm out and splay your fingers. SW Pass is your index finger, S Pass is your middle. Tiger Pass is your thumb. About your wrist is Venice which has been mentioned in some of the news coverage. Then your arm is all that river, encased by levees, natural and man-made, marshes or not on either side - eventually coming to your shoulder which is where the New Orleans metro area is. Drive time from New Orleans to Venice is 2 hours (the road is NOT straight).

And the oil rig that went down was off of S Pass, 50 miles.