DOINews: Update: The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill

Prepared by the Joint Information Center
UPDATED July 7, 2010, 7:00 PM

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

PAST 24 HOURS

Administration Launches New, Streamlined Oil Spill Response Website

A new federal web portal was launched today—RestoreTheGulf.gov—dedicated to providing the American people with clear and accessible information and resources related to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and recovery.

RestoreTheGulf.gov is designed to serve as a one-stop repository for news, data and operational updates related to administration-wide efforts to stop the BP oil leak and mitigate its impact on the environment, the economy and public health—unifying web resources across the administration and increasing public access to the latest information.

The site offers easy-to-navigate information about the claims and appeals process—as well as other types of assistance available from federal, state, local and non-government sources—for individuals, businesses and communities who have been affected by the spill. It will also contain information about plans for the long-term economic and environmental restoration in the Gulf Coast region. Visit RestoreTheGulf.gov.

Admiral Allen Provides Operational Update While Aboard the Discoverer Enterprise

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen provided a briefing to inform the American public and answer questions on the progress of the administration-wide response to the BP oil spill aboard the Discoverer Enterprise. A transcript is available here.

Allen traveled to the well site to get a firsthand look at on-scene conditions in the wake of the passage of recent severe weather, as well as the front currently passing over the Yucatan, which has generated sea states that have had an impact on operations.

Oil Recovered Graph Demonstrates Collection Progress

Under the direction of the federal government, BP continues to capture some oil and burn gas at the surface using its containment dome technique—collecting oil aboard the

Discoverer Enterprise, which is linked by a fixed riser pipe to the wellhead, and flaring off additional oil and gas on the Q4000, which is connected to the choke line. BP also is in the progress of connecting a floating riser pipe to third vessel, the Helix Producer, which will increase collection capacity to an estimated 53,000 barrels per day by bringing up additional oil up through the kill line—a redundancy measure also taken at the administration's direction.

The graph below, produced by the Department of Energy, demonstrates the cumulative amount of oil recovered to date, combining the containment cap and the Q4000.

Progress Continues in Drilling Relief Wells

The drilling of relief wells continues and has not been interrupted by elevated sea states. The Development Driller III has drilled the first relief well to a depth of 17,780 feet below the Gulf surface. The Development Driller II has drilled the second relief well—a redundancy measure taken at the direction of the administration—to a depth of approximately 13,900 feet below the surface. BP continues the “ranging” process—which involves periodically withdrawing the drill pipe and sending an electrical signal down to determine how close they are getting to the wellbore.

Federal Agencies Meet with NAACP and Gulf State Officials on Hurricane Planning

Representatives from FEMA, the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency held a briefing in Mobile, Ala., on hurricane and natural disaster contingency planning with state emergency planners, the Red Cross and NAACP representatives from throughout the Gulf Coast.

32 Rehabilitated Brown Pelicans Released Back to the Wild

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released 32 rehabilitated brown pelicans back to the wild at Fort DeSoto Park, near Tampa, Florida. 432 rehabilitated birds have been released to date.

Wildlife rescue and recovery crews continue to survey affected areas using hundreds of personnel and dozens of vessels, as well as numerous airboats and helicopters to protect Gulf Coast wildlife and habitats from the effects of the BP oil spill. On Tuesday, rescue and recovery teams responded to a total of 129 calls to the Wildlife Hotline reporting oiled or injured wildlife along the Gulf Coast. To report oiled wildlife, call (866) 557-1401.

Approved SBA Economic Injury Assistance Loans Top $11 Million

SBA has approved 144 economic injury assistance loans to date, totaling more than $11 million for small businesses in the Gulf Coast impacted by the BP oil spill. Additionally, the agency has granted deferments on 571 existing SBA disaster loans in the region, totaling more than $3.3 million per month in payments. For information on assistance loans for affected businesses, visit the SBA's Web site at

www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance, call (800) 659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Administration Continues to Oversee BP's Claims Process

The administration will continue to hold the responsible parties accountable for repairing the damage, and repaying Americans who've suffered a financial loss as a result of the BP oil spill. To date, 98,596 claims have been opened, from which more than $153.5 million have been disbursed. No claims have been denied to date. There are 950 claims adjusters on the ground. To file a claim, visit

www.bp.com/claims or call BP's helpline at 1-800-440-0858. 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. Additional information about the BP claims process and all available avenues of assistance can be found at www.disasterassistance.gov.

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, 1,559 are active.
• More than 45,400 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines.
• More than 6,200 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.
• Approximately 3 million feet of containment boom and 5.46 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 870,000 feet of containment boom and 2.3 million feet of sorbent boom are available.
• More than 28.6 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.
• Approximately 1.72 million gallons of total dispersant have been applied—1.07 million on the surface and 657,000 sub-sea. Approximately 400,000 gallons are available.
• 275 controlled burns have been conducted, efficiently removing a total of approximately 10 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 507 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled—approximately 290 miles in Louisiana, 69 miles in Mississippi, 62 miles in Alabama, and 86 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 81,181 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. More than 66 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 Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Spain, 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.

Resources:

• For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
• 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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