Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner on Monday traveled to New Orleans to receive updates from National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen and senior federal officials leading the frontline response to the BP oil spill.
In their meetings, Secretary Napolitano and Ms. Browner discussed ongoing efforts to prevent oil from reaching the shoreline along the Gulf Coast and to mitigate its impact where it does. They were also joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate for a portion of the briefings to discuss preparations in the event a hurricane or tropical storm should strike the Gulf Coast.
They also participated in Admiral Allen’s daily press briefing, in which they highlighted the current scope of the response:
· To date, approximately 39,000 personnel are working to protect the shoreline and wildlife and clean up impacted coastlines;
· More than 7,200 vessels are currently responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts; and
· More than 82,000 claims have been filed with BP to compensate for losses as a result of the company’s spilled oil. The President has received a guarantee from BP to establish a $20 billion escrow fund dedicated to paying claims that stem from this disaster.
In addition, Secretary Napolitano and Ms. Browner reiterated that the federal government’s aggressive response efforts and oversight of BP will continue until BP stops its leaking well, the damage is cleaned up, and Gulf Coast communities are made whole, and stressed that the federal government is working closely with state and local authorities to ensure that they have the resources they need to meet the evolving threat from this oil spill.
Vice President Joe Biden will visit the Unified Area Command in New Orleans as well as the Florida panhandle tomorrow to assess efforts to mitigate the oil spill. More details on the Vice President’s trip to the region will be announced as they become available.
In total, senior administration officials have visited the region 46 times since BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20—including trips by the President, National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Attorney General Eric Holder, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, SBA Administrator Karen Mills and Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley.
For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
