Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill, August 15, 2010

PAST 24 HOURS

President Obama and the First Family Continue Their Visit to the Gulf Coast

The President and his family wrapped up their vacation in Panama City, Fla., taking a boat tour of St. Andrews Bay and stopping for ice cream before departing for a return flight to Washington. Yesterday, the President remarked about the beauty of the Gulf Coast and the vital importance of the tourism industry across the region.

“I also want to point out that as a result of the cleanup effort, beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean, they are safe, and they are open for business.  That’s one of the reasons Michelle, Sasha, and I are here. The Governor and the mayors and others invited us down to enjoy the beach and the water—to let our fellow Americans know that they should come on down here. It is spectacular. Not just to support the region; come down here because it’s just a beautiful place to visit,” the President said.

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 have suffered a financial loss as a result of the BP oil spill. To date, 150,163 claims have been opened, from which more than $356 million have been disbursed. No claims have been denied to date. 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, 1,376 are active.

• More than 28,277 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines.

• More than 4,254* 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 2.29 million feet of containment boom** and 8.77 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 1.32 million feet of containment boom and 3.6 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 672 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled—approximately 375 miles in Louisiana, 117 miles in Mississippi, 72 miles in Alabama, and 108 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 decreases in personnel and equipment are a result of the temporary suspension of some response operations due to the effects of severe weather.

**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.

Source: deepwaterhorizonresponse.com