DOINews: Readout of Secretary Salazar's and Secretary Napolitano's Visit to Louisiana to Inspect the Ongoing Response to the BP Oil Spill

GALLIANO, La.— Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today visited Louisiana to inspect the ongoing, unprecedented federal response to the BP oil spill—accompanied by a bipartisan Senate delegation including Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Senator David Vitter (R-LA).

In Louisiana, Secretary Salazar and Secretary Napolitano met with Governor Bobby Jindal and local community and industry leaders to discuss the latest response efforts in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast with federal officials leading the effort as well as BP representatives.

Secretary Salazar, Secretary Napolitano and the Senate delegation conducted a flyover tour of the Louisiana coastline to view firsthand the spill's impact on these vital coastlines, and cleanup efforts underway.

Response personnel and Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Teams, along with hundreds of volunteers, continue to clean the Louisiana coastal areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. More than 550 cleanup personnel, 500 vessels and 51 aircraft are on-scene in Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and Terrebonne Parishes investigating reports of oil, cleaning impacted areas and evaluating response efforts to ensure the oil is removed with the most environmentally responsible methods.

Response crews are manually removing oil, skimming the oil off the surface, applying dispersant and conducting controlled burning operations at every opportunity to minimize coastal impact. Additional response personnel and equipment is being surged into areas where modeling and aerial surveillance indicate a greater potential for shoreline impact.

In total, more than 1,200 vessels and 22,000 personnel are responding across the Gulf Coast and the affected area to mitigate the spill's impact on the economy, the environment, and the communities of the Gulf Coast.

Anyone who locates oil on the shore should avoid contact and report the sighting to (866) 448-5816. For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

GULF OF MEXICO - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar views the response from a flyover of the affected area. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Cmdr. Rob Wyman.

GULF OF MEXICO - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discusses ongoing response efforts to the BP oil spill with Federal On Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Mary Landry. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Cmdr. Rob Wyman.

GULF OF MEXICO - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senate Energy Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) view response efforts first hand during a flyover of areas affected by the BP oil spill. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Cmdr. Rob Wyman.

NEW ORLEANS - Federal On-Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Mary Landry briefs Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on recent efforts to mitigate the impacts of the BP oil spill. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Cmdr. Rob Wyman.

NEW ORLEANS - Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Federal On-Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Mary Landry and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) discuss ongoing shoreline cleanup efforts before boarding a Coast Guard aircraft to take a firsthand look at the response to the Deepwater BP oil spill. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Cmdr. Rob Wyman.