Robin's Blog for Dauphin Island

The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill Prepared by the Joint Information Center UPDATED August 12, 2010 7 PM

PAST 24 HOURS Admiral Allen Provides an Update on the BP Oil Spill Response National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen provided a briefing to inform the American public and answer questions on the administration-wide response to the BP oil spill. A full transcript is available here. Admiral Allen reported on the passing of the tropical depression and the steps being taken to prepare to resume drilling the relief well, including conducting a pressure test to determine the condition of the annulus, removing the storm packer and dropping the drill string. The pressure test is expected to run for four hours, and the science team is expected to make recommendations to Admiral Allen on how to proceed tonight or tomorrow morning. From that point, it would be an estimated 96 hours until BP would begin drilling into the annulus. While addressing questions on whether drilling the relief well would be necessary, Admiral Allen reiterated the importance of the bottom kill to permanently seal the well: “If the annulus is cut off with cement, and we choose not to do the bottom kill from the relief well it will be because we’ve effectively already done the bottom kill,” he said. “Let me restate this for everybody: a bottom kill finishes this well. The question is: has it already been accomplished through the static kill? Or what do we need to do to ensure that the annulus has no communication with the reservoir? That’s what we’re trying to do here—to make sure there is no chance hydrocarbons come up through the reservoir either through the well casing or the annulus itself.” FWS Personnel Continue Wildlife Rescue and Recovery Missions Across the Region From the Houma, La., Incident Command Post, 269 field personnel, 84 vessels, four helicopters and one float plane participated in reconnaissance and wildlife rescue and recovery missions. From the Mobile, Ala., Incident Command Post, 24 two-person teams, 19 vessels and one helicopter continued the search for oil impacts and injured or oiled wildlife. To report oiled wildlife, call (866) 557-1401. Approved SBA Economic Injury Assistance Loans Surpass $20.4 Million SBA has approved 236 economic injury assistance loans to date, totaling more than $20.5 million for small businesses in the Gulf Coast impacted by the BP oil spill. Additionally, the agency has granted deferments on 789 existing SBA disaster loans in the region, totaling more than $4.3 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, 148,190 claims have been opened, from which more than $347 million have been disbursed. No claims have been denied to date. There are 1,247 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, 1,399 are active. · More than 29,200 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines. · More than 4,950 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 2.37 million feet of containment boom* and 8.76 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 1.25 million feet of containment boom and 3.33 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 382 miles in Louisiana, 117 miles in Mississippi, 76 miles in Alabama, and 94 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 52,395 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. Approximately 78 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.