* For a full timeline of the Administration-wide response, visit the White House Blog.
PAST 24 HOURS
The President Signs an Executive Order Establishing Bipartisan Commission
President Obama announced that he has signed an executive order establishing the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling with former two-term Florida Governor and former Senator Bob Graham and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly serving as co-chairs.
The bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is tasked with providing recommendations on how we can prevent—and mitigate the impact of—any future spills that result from offshore drilling.
The commission will be focused on the necessary environmental and safety precautions we must build into our regulatory framework in order to ensure an accident like this never happens again, taking into account the other investigations concerning the causes of the spill.
The commission will have bipartisan co-chairs with a total membership of seven people. Membership will include broad and diverse representation of individuals with relevant expertise. No sitting government employees or elected officials will sit on the commission.
The Commission’s work will be transparent and subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Commission will issue a report within six months of having been convened.
EPA Releases BP’s Response to Dispersants Directive
The EPA released BP’s response to its directive on dispersants, which required BP to evaluate available, pre-approved dispersants for toxicity and effectiveness and report back to EPA within 24 hours. EPA will continue to work over the next 48 hours to ensure BP is complying with the directive. BP’s response to EPA’s directive, as well as the directive itself, can be found here.
BP and several of the dispersant manufacturers have claimed some sections of BP’s response contain confidential business information (CBI). By law, CBI cannot be immediately made public except with the company's permission. EPA challenged these companies to make more information public and, as a result, several portions of the letter can now be made public. EPA is currently evaluating all legal options to ensure that the remaining redacted information is released to the public. EPA continues to strongly urge these companies to voluntarily make this information public so Americans can get a full picture of the potential environmental impact of these alternative dispersants.
Preparation Continues for BP’s Top Kill Attempt to Stop Leaking Oil
BP and federal scientists and engineers continue to prepare for the top kill operation, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 25. From the command centers in Robert, La., and Houston, Texas, federal officials continue to review BP’s various procedures and contingencies for the top kill. Scientists from Sandia, Los Alamos and Livermore National Laboratories are examining the risks associate, and BP continues to evaluate options for lower toxicity dispersant and alternative supply chains.
Wildlife Rescue Flights Continue
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services conducted four flights today for recon/wildlife rescue missions and bird surveys.
Officials Plan and Prepare for Any Potential Impacts to Tribal Lands
DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to work with tribes along the Gulf Coast to determine potentially impacted tribal lands, and conduct pre-planning, including coordinated efforts with local emergency agencies, in preparation for any future impact.
By the Numbers to Date:
* Personnel were quickly deployed and approximately 24,900 are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife.
* More than 1,100 vessels are 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 1.52 million feet of containment boom and 560,000 feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 310,000 feet of containment boom and 1.27 million feet of sorbent boom are available.
* Approximately 9.7 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.
* Approximately 715,000 gallons of total dispersant have been deployed—630,000 on the surface and 85,000 subsea. More than 375,000 gallons are available.
* 17 staging areas are in place and ready to protect sensitive shorelines, including: Dauphin Island, Ala., Orange Beach, Ala., Theodore, Ala., Panama City, Fla., Pensacola, Fla., Port St. Joe, Fla., St. Marks, Fla., Amelia, La., Cocodrie, La., Grand Isle, La., Shell Beach, La., Slidell, La., St. Mary, La.; Venice, La., Biloxi, Miss., Pascagoula, Miss., and Pass Christian, Miss.
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 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.
For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
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