DOINews: Top Officials Reiterate Administration's Commitment to Long-term Gulf Recovery

* For a full timeline of the Administration-wide response, visit the White House Blog.

PAST 24 HOURS

Top Officials Reiterate Administration's Commitment to Long-term Recovery

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner reiterated the administration's commitment to long-term recovery in the Gulf Coast and to completing the relief well to ensure the well is permanently sealed, speaking on several morning television news shows.

"We're just moving to a different phase. Obviously, we're delighted there's not going to be a source for the oil, but if you're in Barataria Bay or the Chandeleur Islands or Mississippi Sound or see the oil coming ashore on the beaches of Alabama and Florida, what you need to understand is we're going to keep cleaning it up. We've got a commitment to be there," Allen said on CBS' Face the Nation.

"BP is responsible. We're going to hold them accountable. And I would say this has been the largest environmental response in the history of this nation, and we'll continue until the cleanup is done."

Relief Well Drilling and Acoustic Monitoring Continue

As pressure tests showed that the procedure to prevent any more oil from spilling with a cement plug appears to have succeeded, Development Driller III continues the drilling of the relief well to ensure the well is permanently sealed. The NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow continues conducting acoustic surveys in order to ensure the integrity of the wellhead—part of continued efforts to use the best scientific tools available in response to the BP oil spill.

FWS Personnel Continue Wildlife Rescue and Recovery Missions Across the Region

From the Houma, La., Incident Command Post, 279 field personnel, 84 vessels and four helicopters participated in reconnaissance and wildlife rescue and recovery missions. From the Mobile, Ala., Incident Command Post, wildlife recovery teams responded to 35 calls on the Wildlife Hotline. To report oiled wildlife, call (866) 557-1401.

By the Numbers to Date:

• The administration has authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guard troops from Gulf Coast states to respond to this crisis; currently, 1,519 are active.
• Approximately 29,200 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines.
• More than 5,200 vessels are currently responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts—in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.
• More than 2.73 million feet of containment boom* and 8.58 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 1.6 million feet of containment boom and 3.13 million feet of sorbent boom are available.
• More than 34.7 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.
• Approximately 1.84 million gallons of total dispersant have been applied—1.07 million on the surface and 771,000 sub-sea. Approximately 577,000 gallons are available.
• 411 controlled burns have been conducted, efficiently removing a total of more than 11.14 million gallons of oil from the open water in an effort to protect shoreline and wildlife. Because calculations on the volume of oil burned can take more than 48 hours, the reported total volume may not reflect the most recent controlled burns.
• 17 staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines.
• Approximately 669 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled—approximately 389 miles in Louisiana, 113 miles in Mississippi, 76 miles in Alabama, and 91 miles in Florida. These numbers reflect a daily snapshot of shoreline currently experiencing impacts from oil so that planning and field operations can more quickly respond to new impacts; they do not include cumulative impacts to date, or shoreline that has already been cleared.
• Approximately 57,539 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. More than 76 percent remains open. Details can be found at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/.
• To date, the administration has leveraged assets and skills from numerous foreign countries and international organizations as part of this historic, all-hands-on-deck response, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization, the European Union's Monitoring and Information Centre, and the European Maritime Safety Agency.

*The decrease in boom numbers is due to the continued recovery of displaced boom. Once recovered, this boom must be decontaminated, repaired, inspected, and certified before being staged or redeployed. New boom is being deployed in some areas.

Resources:

• For information about the response effort, visit www.restorethegulf.gov.
• For specific information about the federal-wide response, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill.
• To contact the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center, call (985) 902-5231.
• To volunteer, or to report oiled shoreline, call (866) 448-5816. Volunteer opportunities can also be found here.
• To submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system, or to submit alternative response technology, services, or products, call 281-366-5511.
• To report oiled wildlife, call (866) 557-1401. Messages will be checked hourly.
• For information about validated environmental air and water sampling results, visit http://www.epa.gov/bpspill.
• For National Park Service updates about potential park closures, resources at risk, and NPS actions to protect vital park space and wildlife, visit http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm.
• For daily updates on fishing closures, visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
• To file a claim, or report spill-related damage, call BP's helpline at (800) 440-0858. A BP fact sheet with additional information is available here. For those who have already pursued the BP claims process and are not satisfied with BP's resolution, can call the Coast Guard at (800) 280-7118. More information about what types of damages are eligible for compensation under the Oil Pollution Act as well as guidance on procedures to seek that compensation can be found here.
• In addition, www.disasterassistance.gov has been enhanced to provide a one-stop shop for information on how to file a claim with BP and access additional assistance—available in English and Spanish.
• Any members of the press who encounter response personnel restricting their access or violating the media access policy set forth by Admiral Allen should contact the Joint Information Center. Click here for more information, including a list of regular embed opportunities.
• For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
  

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