Keys Oil Spill Update

This is a email that came to me this afternoon:




Dear Scotty,

Please forward this "Oil Spill" update to everyone you know in the
Keys and ask friends to volunteer to help protect our environment
and economy at http://keysspill.com/ We need boat captains,
boat owners and anyone that wants to volunteer to help in any way.
Please download, print and handout flyers from keysspill.com

PAST 24 HOURS

* Meeting at Key Largo Government Center

A special Workshop on the Oil Spill was held at Monroe County
Nelson Govt Center Bldg, MM102, Bayside, Key Largo today at 1 pm,
a video link of the meeting will be up soon.

* New links and documents added to www.keysspill.com today

* The President Meets with Cabinet Members in the Situation Room

President Obama met with a number of Cabinet members and senior
staff in the White House Situation Room to review BP’s efforts to
stop the oil leak as well as to decide on next steps to ensure all
is being done to contain the spread, mitigate the environmental
impact and provide assistance to affected states, including
individuals, businesses, and communities.

The President asked Secretary Chu to lead a team of top
administration officials and government scientists to Houston this
week for an extensive dialogue with BP officials to continue to
aggressively pursue potential solutions.

In addition, to deal more generally with the harms created by oil
spills, the President has requested that legislation be sent to
Congress to toughen and update the law surrounding caps on damages.

* EPA Administrator Jackson Returns to the Gulf Coast

Administrator Jackson made another visit to the Gulf region to
oversee efforts to mitigate the environmental and human health
impact of the ongoing BP oil spill visiting Baton Rouge, La., to
receive a briefing by Louisiana State University scientists; and
Robert, La., to receive a briefing by federal agency scientists.
Secretary Salazar Dispatches Top Land Management Official
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that Director of the
Bureau of Land Management Robert Abbey has been dispatched to the
Gulf Coast to support ongoing response efforts to the BP Deepwater
oil spill.

* Navy Supports Skimming Operations

The U.S. Navy is providing assistance in the areas of skimming and
salvage operations including 16 Modular Skimming Systems deployed
to Gulfport, Miss. 1,400 total associated Department of Defense
personnel have been deployed in support of spill cleanup and
mitigation.

* New Staging Location Opens in Amelia, La.
14 staging areas have been set up to protect vital shoreline in all
potentially affected Gulf Coast states (Biloxi, Miss., Pascagoula,
Miss., Pensacola, Fla., Panama City, Fla., Dauphin Island, Ala.,
Grand Isle, La., Shell Beach, La., Slidell, La., Venice, La.,
Orange Beach, Al., Theodore, Al., Pass Christian, Ms., Amelia, La.,
and Cocodrie, La.).

* Property Damage Claims Processed

BP reports that 5,710 property damage claims have been opened, from
which $2.4 million has been disbursed. No claims have been denied
at this time. Approximately 60 operators are answering phones, and
average wait time is currently less than a minute. To file a claim,
or report spill-related damage, call BP helpline at (800)
440-0858. For those who have already pursued the BP claims process
and are not satisfied with BPs resolution, can call the Coast
Guard at (800) 280-7118.

* NOAA Conducts Research and Evaluation

NOAA Research is evaluating the information obtained from the NOAA
P-3 (hurricane hunter) aircraft flight over the Gulf of Mexico Loop
Current on May 8.

* Lessons Learned from Exxon Valdez Examined

Alaska and Louisiana Sea Grant personnel are meeting regularly with
Alaska Oil Spill Responders to explore lessons learned from the
Exxon Valdez incident and possible applications to the Deepwater
Horizon. NOAA's Sea Grant is a university-based network of more
than 3,000 scientists, engineers and educators.

* Fish & Wildlife Field Crews Respond

Eight field crews have been deployed from the Dennis Pass Wildlife
Staging Area to observe the impact on wildlife due to the spill.
Wildlife search and capture teams conducted boat operations from
the Lake Borgne to the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River and
west to Cameron, La. Four helicopters conducted aerial surveys to
observe wildlife and determine if rescue operations are needed in
potentially affected areas.

* Water and Sediment is Sampled

The U.S. Geological Survey completed water and sediment sampling at
16 sites along coastal Alabama and Mississippi. USGS is preparing
for sampling in Texas and Florida, and also for sea-grass bed
surveys.

* Plans Begin for Bioremediation

USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service is assessing the
capabilities of Plant Materials Centers and asking commercial
growers to ramp up plant propagation efforts for potential future
bioremediation efforts.

* Aerial Dispersant Spray Missions Flown

Modular Aerial Spray System (MASS) aircraft flew multiple
missions dispensing the same dispersant chemical being used by
BP and the federal responders. These systems are capable of covering
up to 250 acres per flight.

* By the Numbers to Date:

Personnel were quickly deployed and approximately 10,000 are
currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife.

More than 290 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 million feet of boom (regular and sorbent) have been
deployed to contain the spill and more than 1.3 million feet are
available.

Nearly 3.5 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been
recovered.

Approximately 325,000 gallons of dispersant have been deployed.
More than 500,000 gallons are available.

14 staging areas have been set up to protect vital shoreline in
all potentially affected Gulf Coast states (Biloxi, Miss.,
Pascagoula, Miss., Pensacola, Fla., Panama City, Fla., Dauphin
Island, Ala., Grand Isle, La., Shell Beach, La., Slidell, La.,
Venice, La., Orange Beach, Al., Theodore, Al., Pass Christian, Ms.,
Amelia, La., and Cocodrie, La.).

* 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.

To file a claim, or report spill-related damage, call BPs
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.


Abritt Publishing, 13484 SW 144 Ter, Miami, Fl 33186, USA

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