Meeting 1: July 12-13, 2010 (New Orleans, LA)

Christopher Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas in the Office of Fossil Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy, states the rules for the conduct of meetings as well as the agenda for the day. Mr. Smith is the designated federal officer for the commission.

Robert Graham, Former Senator Governor of Florida, provided introductions to the other members of the commission. The other members of the commission, William K. Reilly, Frances G. Beinecke, Donald Boesch, Terry D. Garcia, Cherry A. Murray, and Frances Ulmer, introduced themselves and gave their opening remarks.

RDML Peter Neffenger, US Coast Guard, and Kent Wells, Vice President BP North America, reported on the status of the oil spill and efforts to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Members of the commission posed questions to the panelists.

Representatives of businesses in the region present the economic impacts of the oil spill on the fishing, tourism, and drilling industries in the region.

Speakers: Michael Hecht, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater New Orleans Inc, Keith Overton, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, TradeWinds Islands Resorts and Chairman of the Board, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Sal Sunseri, Owner of P&J Oyster Company, Jeff Angers, President of the Center for Coastal Conservation, T. Jay Collins, President and Chief Executive Officer, Oceaneering, Sean Duffy, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gulf States Maritime Association, Larry Dickerson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Offshore, Mary Landrieu, U.S. Senator for Louisiana, Anh "Joseph" Cao, Congressman, 2nd District of Louisiana, and Steve Scalise, Congressman, 1st District of Louisiana

Members of the public spoke about the impact that the oil spill has had on their lives and livelihood.

Christopher Smith opened the second day of meetings with a summary of the agenda for the day. Robert Graham and William Reilly made opening comments reflecting on the previous day's testimony.

Local Louisiana elected officials testified to the Commission on the overall impact of the oil spill to their jurisdiction.

Speakers: Michael Bromwich, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of the Interior, Charlie Henry, Scientific Support Coordinator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Environmental Protection Agency

The commission heard testimony from officials from Department of the Interior, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency on what their agencies were doing and recommending to deal with the oil spill.

Speakers: Sharon Gauthe, Executive Directive, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing, Grace Scire, Gulf Coast Regional Coordinator, Boat People SOS, Ed Overton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Christopher Reddy, Associate Scientist of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Members of the public spoke about the impact that the oil spill has had on their lives and livelihood.