Thad Allen Meets With Gulf Leaders

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen spent Thursday morning with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Parish presidents from the Gulf region.

Speaking with reporters, the former Coast Guard official explained that the leaders had discussed and agreed upon three major issues: “to assess how we can move forward from response to recovery,” and to refine the team’s hurricane preparedness plans following Tropical Storm Bonnie in such a way that the command will be able to respond to more varied degrees of storm systems, and to develop a “joint vessel of opportunity employment plan,” said Allen.

“Vessels of opportunity” are generally local commercial boats that have been put out of work by the spill, and subsequently employed by the response team, explained Allen.  Unfortunately, the joint command will need to move to employing more specialized contractors in the near future, leaving many of these vessels out of work yet again.

The meeting also provided leaders the opportunity to voice their concerns over the large amount of boom that has yet to be deployed, which could end up further harming marshlands if not removed before any intense storm, explained Allen.

Allen further reported that BP’s next attempt to stop the leak, known as the “static kill,” may be implemented sooner than Monday, as authorities had initially expected. The static kill is similar to the top kill method, which BP had attempted but failed to implement earlier in the leak, but has a better chance of success, say authorities, due to the reduced pressure of the leak and the engineering of the “stacking cap” that is now keeping the leak contained.

Spill Response Team Preparing For Tropical Storm

by Miles Wolf Tamboli

Tropical storm Bonnie is currently approaching the Gulf of Mexico, at about 18 miles per hour, and according to experts, seems to be headed straight toward the Northernmost region of the Gulf, which has been most affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Although the storm is not expected to grow in intensity, it will be nearing the Macondo well in the next two days, and  the Deepwater Horizon Response Joint Command is readying operations in the Gulf.

Incident Commander Admiral for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill Thad Allen held a briefing in New Orleans Friday to provide an update on the preparations currently being made.

“The intention right now is to put the vessels in a safe place so they can return as quickly as possible to resume their operations,” said Allen.  The two rigs drilling the relief wells, which could bring a conclusive end to the spill in the near future, have been detached from their drill sites and will soon be moved out of harm’s way.

Allen described that although the Joint Command is unsure, as of yet, whether they will need to leave the site, crucial surveillance and safety technology will continue monitoring the area for any anomalies, and added, “if we have to evacuate the scene we’re probably looking at a very limited window, something around 48 hours.”

Many question the effect a storm could have on the surface oil in the Gulf, and the former Coast Guard official remarked that the storm may, in fact, “help as the emulsification of the oil and the, and the distribution and biodegradation of the oil,” due to increased surface activity.  

“On the other hand, you have the chance to have a storm surge drive that up into beach and marsh areas where it would not have been driven otherwise,” Allen continued, adding that the response team is prepared to step up its cleanup efforts.

“We would like to get back on team and restart the activity as soon as we can,” Allen added.

Well “Integrity Test” Will Continue In 24-Hour Increments

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

Despite BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells’ declaration this morning that the well tests, which have been successful in temporarily stopping the oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico, National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen has released a statement telling the press that, “The ongoing well integrity test will continue until 4 p.m. EST [Sunday], with the potential for additional extensions in 24-hour increments.”

Allen released Saturday that the federal government had approved a 24-hour continuation of the well “integrity test,” but assured that, “as a condition of the extension, the US government has required significant new monitoring and periodic evaluation and approval by [its] science team.”

The Deepwater Horizon Response Joint Command has been conducting tests since Wednesday on a 75-ton “stacking cap” capable of either siphoning off crude oil from the broken Macondo well, or possibly of capping the well altogether.

The team has been monitoring the pressure of the oil building underneath the cap, and lower than expected readings are being examined in order to determine whether another leak has sprung elsewhere, or the oil reservoir has simply been depleted by the nearly three month long oil leak, according to the administration’s point man.

“Progress also continues on the two relief wells the federal government has required BP to drill. The relief well remains the ultimate step in stopping the BP oil leak for good,” said Allen.

Gulf Officials Demand Local Leadership, Spill Emotions Like Oil

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

Local officials met with President Barack Obama’s special BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission in New Orleans Tuesday to deliver a strong message to Washington from Gulf Coast citizens.  

“The response needs to be driven locally,” said A.J. Holloway, Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Charlotte Randolph, President of Lafourche Parish, LA said that local residents can serve as guides to cleanup crews struggling to keep up with the spewing well.

“In a war, there are two things that happen. Number one, you find the people in that particular area who can speak the language, and number two, you find the people who know the terrain,” Randolph said. “It’s our territory, we know it. Let us advise you all the way in how to attack this.”

Local leaders compared the administration’s handling of the Macondo/Deepwater Horizon gusher to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, during which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has since become somewhat of a dirty word on the Coast, was harshly criticized for having worked remotely and inefficiently.

“We’ve been through hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, recessions, depressions and we survived it all,” Mayor Holloway said. “What we have trouble dealing with, is something that will not end. It’s a new oil spill every day, every single day.”

Mayor of Grand Isle, La. David Camardelle said that locals are standing strong and lending helping hands when needed, but is still uncertain as to what the future holds for the Gulf.

“We’re not gonna give up, but I can tell you one thing, by taking everything away from us, from the waters, I don’t know what the hell’s gonna happen to us,” said Camardelle.

Use Of Dispersants In Gulf Questioned By Presidential Commission

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

The President’s Commission on the BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling raised questions on the use of chemical dispersants in managing the leak in a meeting in New Orleans, Tuesday.

Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response for the Environmental Protection Agency, cautioned that, “despite dispersants being a tool … [dispersants] must be the tool of last resort.” Stanislaus continued that the federal government has repeatedly advised that chemical dispersants must only be used in the event that containment booms and burns are insufficient.

Stanislaus revealed that the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard raised concern over BP’s “skyrocketing” use of surface dispersants as far back as May,  requiring that BP cut back on dispersant use by 75%.  According to Stanislaus, BP has reined in their application of the chemicals by 69%.

The official did not comment, however, on the safety of controlled burn methods, which have raised concerns by many in the general population due to possible air polluting effects, which may reintroduce toxic chemicals into the water column by natural climatic processes.