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

Prepared by the Joint Information Center

UPDATED September 6, 2010 4:30 PM CDT

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

PAST 24 HOURS

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, 1,056 are active. 
• Approximately 25,900 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines. 
• Approximately 3,700 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 1.42 million feet of containment boom* and 9.36 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 3.03 million feet of containment boom and 2.15 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 115 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently experiencing moderate to heavy oil impacts—approximately 104 miles in Louisiana, 9 miles in Mississippi and 2 miles in Florida. Approximately 506 miles of shoreline are experiencing light to trace oil impacts—approximately 234 miles in Louisiana, 94 miles in Mississippi, 66 miles in Alabama, and 112 miles in Florida. These numbers reflect a daily snapshot 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 39,885 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. Approximately 83 percent is now 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 (713) 323-1670. 
• 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. 
• 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 Fish and Wildlife Service updates about response along the Gulf Coast and the status of national wildlife refuges, visit http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/.  
• For daily updates on fishing closures, visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov. 
• 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. 
• For information on how to file a claim, visit the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) Web site. In addition, www.disasterassistance.gov has been enhanced to provide a one-stop shop for information on how to file a claim 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.  

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