US / Galveston Tar Balls Hit Texas Beaches Spill has now affected every Gulf state By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Jul 6, 2010 2:10 AM CDT Copied A sample jar of tar balls found on Crystal Beach and Galveston's East Beach during the holiday weekend are displayed during a news conference at the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Michael Paulsen) Oil from the BP spill has now reached the shores of every Gulf state. Tar balls from the spill were found over the weekend on a Texas beach 400 miles from the Gulf gusher, AP reports. Authorities—who rapidly dispatched cleanup crews and sent BP the bill—believe the tar balls may have dropped off a passing ship instead of drifting all the way from the Deepwater Horizon. (More Galveston stories.) Report an error