Responsive Documents - CREW: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Regarding BP Oil Spill:...

8/6/2019 Responsive Documents - CREW: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Regarding BP Oil Spill: 5/19/2011 - Office

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UPDATE 11- Controlled burn scheduled to begin

Steve Mason to:Aimee.Beveridge, barry.joffrion,bonnie.mckelvey, Brit.Featherston, buzz.martin,byron.ellington, camille.r.destafney,

04/28/2010 11:32 AM

DATE: April 28, 2010 10:17:02 CST

UPDATE 11- Controlled burn scheduled to beginNEW ORLEANS The response to BP/Transoceans Deepwater Horizon incident continues asresponders have scheduled a controlled, on-location burn to begin at approximately 11 a.m. CDT todaya strategy designed to minimize environmental risks by removing large quantities of oil in the Gulf ofMexico following the April 20 explosion.

Part of a coordinated response combining tactics deployed above water, below water, dozens of milesoffshore, as well as closer to coastal areas, todays controlled burn will remove oil from the open water inan effort to protect shoreline and marine and other wildlife.

Workboats will consolidate oil into a fire resistant boom approximately 500 feet long. This oil will then betowed to a more remote area, where it will be ignited and burned in a controlled manner. The plan callsfor small, controlled burns of several thousand gallons of oil lasting approximately one hour each.

No populated areas are expected to be affected by the controlled burn operations and there are noanticipated impacts to marine mammals and sea turtles. In order to ensure safety, the EnvironmentalProtection Agency will continuously monitor air quality and burning will be halted if safety standardscannot be maintained.

The Minerals Management Service is in contact with the oil and gas operators in the sheen area todiscuss any concerns with operations that may arise from their activities with the response effortsunderway. Currently, no production has been curtailed as a result of the response activities.

The vast majority of this slick will be addressed through natural means and through use of chemicaldispersants. Todays burn will not affect other ongoing response activities, such as on-water skimming,dispersant application, and subsurface wellhead intervention operations. Preparations are also underwayin Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama to set up a protective boom to minimize shoreline impact.

These efforts are happening concurrently with BP/Transoceans continued efforts to stop the crude that isstill leaking from the well. BP is the responsible party due to the fact that they own the oil that was leakingfrom their well.

Emphasizing the importance of continued vigilance and interagency coordination in the response toBP/Transoceans Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, Secretary of Homeland SecurityJanet Napolitano and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar yesterday announced the next steps for theinvestigation that is underway to determine the causes of the explosion, which left 11 workers missing,three critically injured, and an ongoing oil spill that the responsible party and federal agencies are workingto contain and clean up.

Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, White House Senior AdvisorValerie Jarrett, Secretary Napolitano, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, SecretarySalazar and DOI Deputy Secretary David Hayes also held meetings yesterday with BP, the responsibleparty in the oil spill, to discuss the response effort.

A coordinated response continues by federal, state and local partners while BP and other contractors


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work to stop the flow of oil and minimize its environmental impact. Approximately 1,100 total personnelare currently deployed and have used approximately 56,000 gallons of oil dispersant so far.Approximately 260,000 gallons of oily water have been collected. Nearly 50 vesselsincluding 16skimming boats, four storage barges, 11 support vesselsand multiple aircraft are conductingcontainment and cleanup operations in the area.

A Web site has been established where photos, press releases and fact sheets are available atwww.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com . A toll free number has been established to report oiled or injuredwildlife. To report affected wildlife, call (866) 557-1401. Individuals are urged not to attempt to help injuredor oiled animals, but to report any sightings to the toll free number.

For more information regarding the Deepwater Horizon incident, contact the joint information center at(985) 902-5231/5240


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UPDATE 12 - Deepwater Horizon Update


04/29/2010 02:49 PM

DATE: April 29, 2010 12:15:56 CST

UPDATE 12 - Deepwater Horizon UpdateThe unified command continues with a comprehensive oil well intervention and spill-response planfollowing the April 22 sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 130 miles southeast ofNew Orleans. More than 1,000 personnel are involved in the response effort both on and offshore withadditional resources being mobilized as needed.

The Minerals Management Service remains in contact with all oil and gas operators in the sheen area.Currently, no production has been curtailed as a result of the response effort.

Incident Facts:

A flyover on Wednesday, April 28 at 2:00 p.m. (CDT), continued to show a large, rainbow sheen withareas of emulsified crude, approximately 16 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

On April 28 at approximately 4:45 p.m. (CDT), the response team conducted a successful, controlledin-situ burn and is evaluating conducting additional burns.

More than 174,060 feet of boom (barrier) has been assigned to contain the spill. An additional 243,260feet is available and 265,460 feet has been ordered.

To date, the oil spill response team has recovered 18,180 barrels (763,560 gallons) of an oil-water mix.Vessels are in place and continuing recovery operations.

76 response vessels are being used including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels.

98,361 gallons of dispersant have been deployed and an additional 75,000 gallons are available.

Five staging areas are in place and ready to protect sensitive shorelines. These areas include:

Biloxi, Miss., Pensacola, Fla. Venice, La., Pascagoula, Miss., and Theodore, Ala.

Weather conditions for April 29 - Winds from the southeast at 5-15 mph, choppy rough seas.

126 people were on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig when the incident occurred. 11 remainunaccounted for; 17 were injured, 3 of them critically. 1 injured person remains in the hospital.

To report oiled or injured wildlife, please call 1-800-557-1401.

To discuss spill related damage claims, please call 1-800-440-0858.

To report oil on land, or for general Community and Volunteer Information, please call 1-866-448-5816.

For the latest information please visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com


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Update on Administration -wide response efforts in the Gulf Coast


05/01/2010 02:51 PM

Cc: R6 OSC, Sam Coleman, "McFarlane, Earle"

DATE: May 01, 2010 13:44:31 CST

Update on Administration-wide response efforts in the Gulf Coast

Deepwater Horizon IncidentJoint Information Center

Phone: (985) 902-5231(985) 902-5240

The response to the BP Oil Spill began as an emergency search and rescue mission by the U.S. Coast Guard andother partners on April 20.

Concurrently, command center operations were stood up immediately in the Gulf Coast to begin also addressing theenvironmental impact of the incident.

The morning after the explosion, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar deployed Deputy Secretary David J . Hayesdown to the gulf to assist with coordination and response to the incident.

The Administration immediately began holding regular calls with BP leadership and numerous senior-levelmeetings have been held between the administration and BP to discuss BP's response effort and federal oversightand support.

The National Response Team (NRT), an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible forcoordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents was quicklyactivated and a coordinated group of federal partners-including the United States Coast Guard, Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency-immediately began directing andoverseeing BP's response.

The President immediately began actively monitoring the incident and consulting on the response. The President hasbeen in contact with all the governors of the states that may be affected and ordered that the administration useevery single available resource at our disposal.

The Department of Defense is fully integrated into the DHS-led team and fully supportive of all response activities.Navy assets have been involved since day #1, and the Coast Guard and Department of Defense continue to work

closely together, anticipating requirements, identifying response options, and rapidly providing response support.

The Secretary of Defense has approved a request for two C-130 aircraft with Modular Aerial Spray Systems(MASS), which are currently en route to the affected area. The Coast Guard has requested assistance from theDepartment of Defense for these aircraft.

These aircraft dispense the same dispersant chemical being used by BP and the federal responders. Each system iscapable of covering up to 250 acres per flight with three flights per aircraft per day.


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Additionally, in direct support of the Coast Guard under an existing pollution clean-up and salvage operationsagreement, the Navy is providing a variety of oil pollution control equipment. The Navy has sent thousands of feetof inflatable oil boom with mooring equipment, several skimming systems, related support gear, and personnel tosupport oil spill response efforts. Naval Air Station Pensacola is serving as a staging facility for Coast Guardcontractor-provided equipment.

To prepare for the possible spreading of the oil slick across the Gulf Coast and in support of the 2nd Unifiedcommand Center in Mobile, Ala., Department of Defense is airlifting additional boom materials to Mobile latertoday. The booms are currently located on four tractor trailers to expedite transportation on the receiving end.

Early on, the President directed responding agencies to not only devote every resource to respond to this incidentbut to also determine its cause. Earlier this week, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar laid out the next steps for the investigation.

The President has also dispatched Secretary Napolitano, Secretary Salazar, EPA Administrator Jackson, Assistant tothe President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco tothe Gulf Coast to ensure all is being done to respond to this oil spill.

Secretary Napolitano announced that this incident is a spill of national significance, the Department of Interior hasannounced that they will be sending SWAT teams to the Gulf to inspect all platforms and rigs, and the EPA isconducting air monitoring activities to gather information on the impact of the controlled burn on air quality.

As part of the designation of the BP Oil Spill as a Spill of National Significance, Secretary Napolitano hasannounced that U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen will serve as the National Incident Commanderfor the administration's continued, coordinated responseproviding additional authority and oversight in leveragingevery available resource to respond to the BP oil spill and minimize the associated environmental risks.

As National Incident Commander, Admiral Allen will continue to work closely with Coast Guard Rear AdmiralMary Landry, the federal on-scene coordinator, and the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Interior andCommerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal departments and agencies as appropriateaswell as BP, the responsible party in the spillto ensure the efficient continued deployment and coordination of vitalresponse assets, personnel and equipment that were activated immediately after the spill began.

To keep the public informed about the latest, validated environmental air and water sampling results, EPA haslaunched a dedicated website at www.epa.gov/bpspill , which will also provide information on the broader federalresponse.

For overall information about the response effort the public can go to www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

In response to the BP oil spill, the Secretary of Defense is authorizing under title 32 the mobilization of theLouisiana National Guard to help in the ongoing efforts to assist local communities in the cleanup and removal of oil and to protect critical habitats from contamination. As the responsible party in this incident, the government willhold BP accountable for the costs of the deployment.

The Minerals Management Service remains in contact with all oil and gas operators in the sheen area. Twoplatforms have stopped production and one has been evacuated as a safety measure. Approximately 6.2 millioncubic feet of natural gas is shut-inless than one-tenth of a percent of daily gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

As the nations leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the BP spill from the start,providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations.NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affectedfederal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico.

Rapid response teams are staged to deploy to shorelines affected by oil to evaluate and determine an appropriate


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clean-up effort to minimize the impact to the environment.

A volunteer program has been established and a toll-free number(866)-448-5816set up for people to call tolearn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required.

By the Numbers to Date:

Personnel were quickly deployed and nearly 2,000 are currently responding to protect the shoreline andwildlifehundreds more than yesterday.Approximately 75 response vessels have been responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, andrecovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup effortsin addition to dozens of aircraft, remotelyoperated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.More than 275,000 feet of boom (barrier) have been deployed to contain the spillan increase of nearly60,000 feet since yesterday. An additional 316,470 feet is available.More than 1 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recoveredan increase of approximately150,000 gallons since yesterday.Nearly 143,000 gallons of dispersant have been deployedan increase of more than 3,500 gallons sinceyesterday. An additional 68,300 gallons are available.Six staging areas (Biloxi, Miss., Pensacola, Fla., Venice, La., Pascagoula, Miss. and Theodore, Ala., andPort Sulphur, La.) were set up to protect sensitive shorelines.


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Transcript from press briefing on ongoing response to oil spill


05/02/2010 07:19 AM

DATE: May 01, 2010 19:25:21 CST

Transcript from press briefing on ongoing response to oil spillPRESS BRIEFING BY COAST GUARD COMMANDANT THAD ALLEN, AND ASSISTANT TO THEPRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND SECURITY JOHN BRENNAN ON ONGOING RESPONSE TO OILSPILL

Via Conference Call

3:52 P.M. EDT

MR. McDONOUGH: Thanks, everybody, for joining us this afternoon. We're joined today by AdmiralThad Allen, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and also as of earlier this afternoon, theNational Incident Commander for continued response to the oil spill in the Gulf; and by John Brennan,Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

We'll go into opening remarks from Admiral Allen and John Brennan in just one minute. I want to justunderscore that this conference today is being coordinated by the Joint Information Center. The JointInformation Center includes communications professionals from each of the agencies involved in thisinteragency government-wide response effort. And all the information as it relates to the response -- thefederal government's response to this spill will be coordinated and sent out through the Joint InformationCenter.

You can get on the Joint Information Center's release list by going to deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.

That's all one word -- deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.With that, let me turn it over to Admiral Allen for some opening remarks.

Sir.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Thank you, Denis. Good afternoon to you all. This afternoon it was announcedthat I would be the National Incident Commander for this continuing response. I'd like to provide somecontext at the outset and make a couple of comments about myself personally and some background thatI have. And then John Brennan will make some remarks.

Regarding this incident, as you all know, this began with a catastrophic explosion on the drilling rig,followed by what was an extraordinary search and rescue case, where over 90 people were evacuatedand three were critically injured and evacuated by Coast Guard helicopters. And unfortunately, we had alot of losses of life. That was followed by three intensive days of searches of nearly 30 aircraft and vesselsorties, over 5,000 square miles searched.

As the fire continued, most of the product was rising through the pipe but consumed by the fire. Whenthe drill unit sank on Thursday, we began a series of events where we were trying to discover theimplications of the sinking, the status of the riser and the status of the wellhead. That required extensiveinvestigation by remotely operated vehicles over the entire 5,000 length of pipe that was arrayed aroundthe floor of the ocean.


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In that period of discovery we continued to find a leak and then another leak and then finally a third leaklate last week, and in the course of doing that, adjusted our response, the commitment of resourcesthere; work with British Petroleum as a responsible party to make sure they adhered to theirresponsibilities; and continued our coordinating work in the interagency

As the complexity and the asymmetry and anomalous nature of this event continue to reveal itself, wecontinue to adapt and make sure that we are leaning forward and capable of responding to theworst-case scenario. At the outset, when we realized that the unit had sunk, we made preparations tostage equipment for a worst-case scenario. The deployment of our equipment was not related to any ofthe early estimates related to 1,000 barrels a day or 5,000 barrels a day, and in fact, any exact estimationof what's flowing out of those pipes down there is probably impossible at this time due to the depth of thewater and our ability to try and assess that from remotely operated vehicles and video.

Our preparations were for something way beyond that, and we continue to stage large amounts ofequipment, and direct BP to do the things that they're responsible for.

My assignment is just a further evolution in our adaptation to this event to make sure that we can carryout our responsibilities and to ensure that British Petroleum carries out their responsibilities.

As a matter of history for you all, we have something called a spill of national significance exerciserequired every three years under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The most recent exercise was held in --last month, and we can provide details on that separately. In April of 2002, there was a spill of nationalsignificance exercise held in New Orleans that dealt with implications of a wellhead loss in the Gulf ofMexico. I was assigned as the united carrier commander at that time and I was the national incidentcommander for that exercise.

This is a continuation of longstanding relationships that I have had in the Gulf Coast for nearly 10 years,and also reflects the ability to interact with the folks down there as I did during the assignment as theprincipal federal officer for Hurricane Katrina. I'm honored that I've been asked to do this. I appreciatethe confident that the President and Secretary Napolitano have in me, and I'm committed to workingacross interagency to assure the success of this response.

MR. McDONOUGH: Thank you, Admiral.

We'll go to John Brennan, and then we'll be open to your questions.

John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. John.

MR. BRENNAN: Good afternoon, everyone. As Admiral Allen said, this has been an evolving situationover the past 10 or 12 days or so, and the President has been fully engaged from the beginning andwants to make sure that we are being as proactive as possible so we can respond to this situation.

He set a couple principles that he has wanted to make sure that we are following. One is to make surethat this an integrated effort. Clearly the federal government as a whole needs to be working with BP,that has responsibility as far as the cleanup is concerned, but also make sure that the federal

government, BP is working very closely with the state and local communities that are there.He also wants to make sure that we are moving aggressively and adapting to what is a dynamic situation.As Admiral Allen said, the Secretary of Homeland Security declared that this was a spill of nationalsignificance this past Thursday, after additional leaks were discovered, and therefore, moved quickly toname Admiral Allen as the National Incident Commander.

There are several components of this and I wanted to make sure we're able to address all of them. In theinitial phases it was the search and recovery effort that really consumed and was the focus of the priorityefforts there. And then once there was a better understanding exactly what the situation entailed -- these


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have moved along several tracks -- one was to make sure we could move aggressively to stop a leak andto cap the well. And that has been going on from the very beginning.

But also, though, while that effort is underway, we want to make sure that we're able to contain thespread of the oil, and that's why the deployment of all the various vessels and the booms that are thereso that we can limit that spread of the oil as the leak continues. Also, though, we need to moveaggressively to mitigate the environmental damage to the coast and the coastal waters as this spillspreads to the coast, but also to ensure that we're working with the states as well as with BP to addressthe impact on the local communities in those Gulf states.

And while these efforts are underway, various activities are being attempted to see if we can mitigate theimpact of this spill. And there are some promising developments as far as some of the technologies thatare being used on top of the water, in addition to the in-situ burns, but also some of the dispersantoptions that are being pursued right now.

BP also I think has been rather forward leaning as far as their commitment to the local communities tohire, employ and train the local citizens for this cleanup, so that commitment is strong.

The infrastructure is being put in place both in terms of BP as well as the federal government. And withthe JIC and others there, the appropriate points of contact are being made available to the state and localcommunities, as well as to the citizens.

Again, as the President has observed this evolving situation, he has directed that no effort be spared toensure that we're able to address the various dimensions of this challenge that we face right now. Andthat's why with someone with Admiral Allen's experience to head this up as the National IncidentCommander allows us to bring this together in a very unified manner and move forward aggressively onall these various fronts.

MR. McDONOUGH: Okay, John, Admiral Allen, thank you much. With that, why don't we open it to yourquestions.

Q Admiral, you've obviously had a lot of experience in this area over the last several years. Can youtalk a little bit about what will be happening in terms of the key efforts being made to try to cut this off --

and I'm talking in terms of the federal government effort in terms of trying to cut off the flow of oil, asopposed to just the efforts that BP is taking. Will there be an effort made by the military to come in withsubmersibles or any other sorts of efforts to help deal with that.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Going into this thing we all understand there are four significant things that have to beaccomplished. You can establish them as operational priorities. The first thing is to stop this thing at thesource. Continuing to fight this thing at the surface and on the shore is not the right way to do that. Theextensive pressure on British Petroleum Industry together to come up with technical solutions to first stopthe leakage that is apparent around the wellhead and the pipe riser, and then to facilitate the drilling of arelief well which will relieve the pressure on the current well and allow it to be capped -- that will onlyremove the threat, when the well is capped.

Second, we need to attack the oil that is there at sea with all means available -- mechanical skimming,

dispersant delivery, in-situ burning -- and we are continuing to do that. That is very much dependent onweather and sea condition.

We need to then protect the resources, and that's prestage -- to deploy boom around the resources fromSouthwest Pass around to the northeast and wherever the spill trajectory takes us.

Finally, we need to recover and mitigate the impacted areas. And we are doing that right now. There aretown hall meetings that have been held in southern Louisiana. We have elicited the aid of volunteerboatmen. We have mechanisms by which people can volunteer to assist us in this.


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Regarding the inclusion of the Department of Defense and/or the Navy, I've been in constantcommunication with my counterparts and in the last 72 hours have had two conversations with ChairmanMike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Staff, and Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton. We havedeveloped a force generation cell in Robert, Louisiana, that has direct contact with Assistant SecretaryStockton, to pass immediate requests for assistance to the Department of Defense.

I'm completely satisfied with the support we're getting, and we're validating the requirements and passingthem to them as we got them. We need to understand, though, that the mere presence of, say, a Navyship doesnt necessarily add to the response, and a lot of the submersibles that are being used there thatin some cases are very technically superior, have the ability to pick up small screwdrivers at a depth of5,000 feet. And we need to make sure that there is a match for our requirements with what DOD canoffer.

We have the complete support of Secretary Gates and the Chairman in that regard, and I will have noreservation about asking them.

Q Thank you for taking the question. For the past few weeks we've seen the size -- from 1,000barrels a day to 5,000 barrels a day. Now experts are saying that the spread could be approaching thesize of Puerto Rico. Admiral, you said estimates at the leak are impossible, in your own words. Do youhave a good handle on how big this leak is? And if you don't have a handle on how big the leak is, doesthat hamper your ability to deal with it?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: I didnt say estimates are impossible. Estimates are what they are -- the precision.I think in this case, the difference between 1,000 barrels a day and 5,000 barrels day -- if you look atpotentially this can go on for 45 or 90 days if we don't cap it, the rate is less important than theaccumulation of oil on the surface, and at that point, really it would be an undetermined amount of oilthat's in the reservoir that's 18,000 feet below the wellhead.

That's the reason the focus has got to be to stop it at the source. We can talk about the differencebetween a thousand and 5,000 barrels a day, but quite frankly, the continued leakage of anything for thatperiod of time is going to cause an extraordinary amount of problems for us. We've got to attack this onthe surface.

So the estimates are useful, but we are planning far beyond that because we don't know how many daysthis will occur. That's the reason it's so important to stop this at the wellhead.

Q Admiral, you said there were some positive developments today. Can you just bring us up to dateon what those were exactly? And can you also be give us a little bit more in terms of when you expectthis to hit Alabama and Mississippi -- in terms of the size of the slick?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Sure. We've had pretty good success when the weather has allowed us to deploydispersants on the oil that's on the surface. Dispersants act like -- they separate the oil in much smallerparticles in the water stream and natural bacteria can degrade it.

Industry working together -- and this is a real positive sign in and of itself -- but British Petroleum

operating with their private sector partners came up with an idea to put a pipe down 5,000 feet at thesource of the leaks and apply dispersants where the oil is leaking out of the riser pipe, with the hope thatit would disperse the oil there and it would not rise to the surface. A test application was made and itappeared visually to have an effect. What we are doing now is establishing the conditions to do anothertest, and we want to make sure by taking water samples and analyzing the impact of the dispersants thatthere's not a deleterious effect on the ecosystem down there

Absent of that, this looks like this could be a promising way to reduce the amount of oil that reaches thesurface. It doesnt stop the oil at its source, but it significantly mitigates the amount that will make it to thesurface and ultimately could be a threat to beaches.


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And in answer to the second part of your question, over the lifecycle of this event the wind has actuallymoved around 270 degrees of a compass, which is three-quarters of it, from west to north, to south, tosoutheast where it's at right now. There's a line of weather coming through. It's very rough and windydown there, as you know. The prevailing winds have been from the south and southeast, which wouldmean it's pushing towards Louisiana. We know it's lingering offshore -- there's been some sheeningthat's approached shore. But at the time of this conversation, we have no reported actual contact with theheavy oil on the beaches in and around Louisiana.

As the weather moves around from the south to the southwest,

which it could over the next 48 to 72 hours, that potentially starts to put Mississippi and Alabama at risk.And what we do is we do three-day trajectories and they're updated a couple of times a day, and it allowsus to try and figure out where we need to put those resources. We have an inordinate amount of boomand other types of materials, but we need to have it where the oil is going to be and the real challenge istrying to predict that. But I think we need to be looking at the implications for Mississippi and Alabamaover the next 72 to 96 hours.

Q Hi, thanks for taking my question. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the shippingimpact today. I was wondering if the Southwest Pass is still open and if you're getting other updates onthat situation.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Sure. Actually that's a great question. There are a number of fairways that areused in that area to approach not only Southwest Pass for the entrance to the Mississippi River, but portssuch as Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula and probably, notably, Mobile after all of those.

There are actually established what we would call fairways in marine navigation. They're not marked likehighways are, but traffic -- shipping traffic adheres to those because it increases safety and security ofshipping.

Right now there is no significant impact of the oil on those fairways, but we are watching that. We'rewatching it for a couple of reasons. Number one, if we try to do cleanup operations where shipping istrying to move through we're going to have to come up with a protocol whereby we either stop shipping,

or the shipping is allowed to pass through the contaminated area and decontaminated before it movesfurther on. If there's going to be an impact on marine transportation we'll activate what is called a marinetransportation recovery unit that will prioritize shipping, deal with the private sector on where product hasto be delivered, and the implications of non-delivery.

This is a protocol that we set up in St. Louis to handle the reestablishment of ports after Hurricane Katrinaand also Ike and Gustav. It's also the way we handle the waterway if there's been an oil spill like therewas last year on the Mississippi River.

So we're watching that very closely. There is no impact at this time, but we have a protocol to handle itshould it happen.

Q Thank you, good afternoon. Perhaps this is for both of you, or perhaps Homeland Security. I'm

wondering about the military dispersing chemicals -- that has been dropped from planes. How effectivehave the C130 drops been? Are they happening often? Are there plans to increase that?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: There have been. We've been dropping dispersants from commercial aircraftsince the start of the incident. We have gone to DOD and asked for two more C130s -- this will increaseour capacity. On any individual sortie by a C130, they can cover 250 acres of oil, and it has provenextremely effective in dispersing the oil into the water column.

We are going to continue to use those two DOD C130s and we will fly and deliver dispersants wheneverwe have the weather to do it. We have a significant stockpile of dispersants and we've gone back to the


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supply chain to make sure they are ramping up. They were not producing any and we we're relying onstock at the start of this, but going back to the supply chain through British Petroleum, they've increasedtheir production to 70,000 gallons a day.

MR. McDONOUGH: This is Denis again. I would just -- as it relates to DOD, John Brennan hereconvened another in the latest of principal committee meetings yesterday afternoon. And both ChairmanMullen and Secretary Gates were on the call and made very clear then again, as they have throughoutthe week, that they are leaning very far forward in providing material as needed including from day one.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: I might add, I'm in a unique position as the Commandant of the Coast Guard -- byTitle 10 I'm not a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but I do sit in the tank sessions with the servicechiefs. I interact with them several times a week, and it's been very easy for me to do to coordinate withthem. And I appreciate the leadership of Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen.

Q My question is about BP. How do you judge how they're doing. Are they doing enough toaddress the problem and the cleanup? And who else can the U.S. turn to if it needs additional help?Other United States companies, for example.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Well, I think we all understand that BP will be graded on the things that Iestablished early on that were the goals of this operation: number one, the ability to stop the leak at itssource; number two, the ability to attack the oil at sea; number three, to protect the resources ashore; andnumber four, to recover and mitigate the impacted areas.

We've had extensive briefings by the BP leadership. Earlier today the deputy secretaries of theaffected departments

Had an hour-long brief, and I was involved in that briefing as well. BP is reaching out to the localcommunities establishing town hall meetings, places for volunteers to enroll, and actually are engagingthe local shipping community in southern Louisiana as vessels of opportunity.

We continue to monitor them. They are responsible for this spill, they are paying for the cost of thespill. The best way I'd described this is BP is the responsible party, but the federal on-scene coordinator,I now as the National Incident Commander, am the accountable party.

Q This may be best for Mr. Brennan. To what extent are you bearing in mind the lessons of thefederal government's response to Hurricane Katrina as you go ahead and mount another major responsein a very similar area?

MR. BRENNAN: Well, I think one of the things that the President said early on is he wants to be veryaggressive and proactive, and not wait for and having to respond to developments, but to anticipate them,and therefore move aggressively. And as Admiral Allen said, the interaction right now with BP and theDepartment of Defense is trying to make sure they're doing everything possible moving it forward.

Clearly there are some lessons from Katrina and there have been some adjustments within the federalgovernment as a result of Katrina. But one of the things the President wants to make sure is that we'renot going to rest until these leaks are stopped, the well is capped and oil is cleaned up. And so therefore,

what we want to do is to make sure we're moving on all these fronts that Admiral Allen has identified --the containment, the stopping of the leaks, and also the mitigation on the shoreline.

And so the President wants to ensure that no effort is being spared. Clearly this is something wherethere has to be a strong partnership with BP. They have the responsibility, but now with Admiral Allen atthe helm, we want to make sure that the federal government as a whole is taking the lead in making surethat everything is being done and that no effort is spared in this regard.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: I think it's also useful to make a distinction between the legal basis and the fundingfor which both of these response actions are carried out. Actions following Hurricane Katrina were


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pursuant to emergency declarations made under the Stafford Act. A response to a spill of nationalsignificance are coordinated and the funding source is the U.S. (inaudible) Trust Fund, which is fundedfrom a tax on crude oil that's imported in this country, an 8 cent a barrel tax. And that fund is $1.6 billionright now. And the National Contingency Plan, the National Response Team and the National IncidentCommand is the mechanism that is by long statute for response to an oil spill. So while they're bothcatastrophic events, there is a difference of the basic statutory authorities for the response and thefunding that's involved.

Q Admiral, you mentioned at the beginning that there was an exercise that was done in 2002 thatsort of looked like -- a similar sort of event. Can you talk a little bit about what that exercise taught youguys and what you have learned from this that is different?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: I can. And I was the National Incident Commander. One of the things we learnedwas to create a vertically integrated organization that links the local response requirements to what wecall a regional response team, which is a collection of the federal agencies that have responsibilities, andthen have those requirements generated passed up to the National Response Team in Washington andhow that's integrated across the federal government. And in fact, as a direct result of those exercisesand other exercises, the protocol by which we've been integrating our response from day one on thisevent have been guided by the lessons learned from the previous spill of national significance exercises.

There's actually a report on that. I don't have it with me right now, but we can probably make thatpublic.

Q Thank you very much. This is a question for either the Admiral or Mr. Brennan. Is contaminationof the shoreline inevitable at this point, given the size of the slick?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Well, the inevitability of contact of the shoreline is really dependent on the weather.I've been telling folks Mother Nature gets a vote in this thing. It's probably the most unpredictable thingwe've got -- is know what the weather is. Sustained weather from any direction is going to push the oiltowards shore. It's pushed it very close to the shore of Louisiana. I think we need to prepare that it willcome ashore. We'd obviously like the wind to change and not to happen at all, but the fact of the matter isit's likely to contact shore in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama at some point.

That's the reason we've activated command posts, prestaged or put boom in the water of almost a millionfeet, and been prepared with our local partners to identify those areas that need to be protected andboomed off. And that is done with the concurrence of state and local authorities and the trustees of folkslike Fish and Wildlife Service and Marine Fishery Service.

So I can't give you an exact crystal ball on when and if it's going to happen. There's enough oil out there Ithink it's really plausible to assume it's going to impact the shoreline. The real question is when andwhere.

Q I was wondering if you could, first of all, give us an update on the progress of the drilling of therelief well, which I understand began today. And then also, give us some more information on the -- therewere a couple of rigs that were shut down today, I understand voluntarily -- give us some moreinformation on how many rigs have been shut down and the effect on production.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Let me start with the first part, and I'll have to get some other information and getback to you on the second. Regarding the drilling of the relief well, I think it would be a misnomer to saythat drilling started today. What they are doing is they're staging equipment in preparation to drill.

One of these drilling operations requires anchoring systems, it requires to put the platform in place andget equipment in place down to the seabed to be able to start the drilling. That is all started. I think theactual physical drilling will come at a later date. But the vessels are arriving on scene and activity isbeginning to drill the relief well, but I don't think actual drilling began today. I think preparations andplacing of equipment began today.


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And I would have to go back and get some information -- I've been in meetings today about shutdown. Ido know that we've had a couple of rigs that have shut down for environmental reasons due to theproximity of oil, just out of an abundance of caution for the employees that are onboard. But we canfollow up with you on that.

Q First I just want to say I feel immeasurably better to hear you're in charge. Beyond that, I've beentalking to some folks who say that crimping the 2 foot diameter, 1 inch steel pipe occurs fairly regularly inthe offshore environment. I'm wondering what the risks of attempting such a thing would be on this pipe.And I'm wondering about the state of the riser, whether you all think it's going to crumble at any point or ifwe have any kind of time frame.

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Well, there are technologies to crimp a pipe. One of the real problems we'rehaving working in that area is what I would call the tyranny of distance and the tyranny of depth. Trying touse some of these technologies at that depth with remotely operated vehicles is proving to be somewhatof a challenge. The riser is already crimped about two feet above what they call the stack, and the stackis where the broad preventers are placed above the wellhead, and those are the ones that we're not sureare activated or activated all the eay.

There was already a crimp in that pipe. What we don't know is whether or not that is what's reducing theflow to what we have right now, or a much larger flow would be expected if there was a total wellheadfailure. There are some plans in place that are being evaluated where the pipe could be crimped orpotentially just cut off and another blowout preventer just placed above it. The real problem is theengineering associated with that and how to mechanically accomplish that 5,000 feet down.

But both those scenarios of crimping and cutting the pipe and replacing it with a new blowout preventerare both being looked at by British Petroleum right now. They are a high degree of difficulty and there aremore risks associated with that than the current mitigating efforts to replace, which are to build acofferdam to place over the leak and to collect the oil and pipe it to the surface and the test that we talkedabout earlier regarding the use of dispersants.

Q I am an attorney in New York. I represent a Scandinavian company that might have the solution.What it does is that it normally would take care of floods, and it could potentially just sink down a tube that

would be sank over the place with (inaudible) and thereby channeling the oil up to a dam that would beartificially created. Is there anybody that would like to speak to me about that? And in that case, whoshould I contact, say, on Monday?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Well, what you're saying is actually a variation on a theme we've alreadyconsidered, which is putting a cofferdam over it and evacuating the oil and pumping it -- and it sounds like-- I think they're willing to listen to anything. Where we're evaluating new technologies and people thatwant to promote ideas, you can go to British Petroleum directly, if you would like. But we will makeavailable later on -- the first-generation cell in Robert, Louisiana, are operating under Admiral Landryunder the direction of Rear Admiral Jim Watson, U.S. Coast Guard -- are the ones that are dealing withrequirements and they're also the ones that are dealing with the Department of Defense and requests oftypes of capability we don't have.

I'm not sitting here with the number in front of me, but I would recommend you go directly to BP with yourproposal or to the Unified Command in Robert, Louisiana, and Rear Admiral James Watson.

Q Good to talk with you again, Admiral Allen, and I'm very glad we're not talking about Alaska thistime. The (inaudible) in the lower Mississippi is highly controlled. Has there been any thought given topossibly increasing the outflow of the Mississippi to provide a little counter-pressure against the inflow ofthe oil slick?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: That's an interesting question. It hasnt been discussed in the context of theMississippi River. I did an overflight of the affected area three days ago with Governor Riley of Alabama,


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and he raised the rhetorical question which we are looking into right now, on whether or not the flow ofthe five rivers of Mobile Bay might be adjusted from reservoirs from hydroelectric plants upstream toincrease the pressure from out of Mobile Bay, which is the same question you have raised. We haveposed that back to the Unified Command in Robert, Louisiana, and we are investigating it.

So just to let you know that was raised in another context, but I do understand that and we do understandthe tremendous pressure on the outflow of the river and the ability to adjust that outflow. I think it's morecontrollable and maybe more feasible in terms of what can be possible at Mobile Bay, but we'll continueto look at it.

Q I wanted to circle back to possible production curtailments. I mean, can you comment on howmuch actual infrastructure is either in the range of the flow and what the potential impact there may be?Also, as far as -- if I understand this correctly, you said that shipping fairways havent been affected yet. Iwas wondering what exactly would it take to limit traffic in the fairways --

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Let me work backwards. Where the current trajectory of the oil spill sits right now-- and maybe this is one of the good things that has happened -- is actually between all the fairways.They're not impacted -- the fairways -- into the Southwest Pass or the Mississippi River, nor are theimpacting at this point the fairways of the Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula or Mobile.

The potential exists that that could happen as the spill moves around and potentially moves towardsMississippi or Alabama. Our way to handle that is to put together a interagency and private sector teamthat takes a look at the implications of denying traffic to pass through -- economic implications.

To give you a good example, we had an oil spill at the intersection of the Lake Charles shipping channeland Intercoastal Waterway and also one at Port Arthur not long ago, which basically stopped barge trafficand ship traffic. And normally we would not let anybody pass through a contaminated area, but what youdo is you put the oil on the hull of the ship and it takes the oil someplace else -- But in the case where wehad to make a delivery of product or faced a $30 million or $40 million cost of shutting down andrestarting, we authorized the vessel to go through and be decontaminated on the other side.

These are case-by-case situations that have to be evaluated by a team of both government, state andlocal and private sector folks that take a look at the implications of those decisions.

As far as the effect on production, to my knowledge there has not been a significant impact onproduction. There is a team that's been established across the interagency at the direction of theprincipals and the deputies to take a look at the economic conditions, and that information is beinggenerated right now. As of this conversation, I do not have any specific information on the impact onproduction, but we will look into that.

MR. McDONOUGH: All right, why don't we go for one more question here.

Q Hi. Thanks for doing this. My question is I'd like to get a sense of kind of the historicalperspective on this. I recognize that each one of these events is going to be -- how do you say --unprecedented, but can you compare this and maybe if there's any lessons learned from each (inaudible)--

ADMIRAL ALLEN: Yes, I can. We've actually gone back and done some historical work of goingback actually three decades of what's happened in the Gulf of Mexico. I think what's unprecedentedabout this event is the depth of the water and the complexity associated with working with a wellhead at5,000 feet, the use of remotely operated vehicles and the issues associated with where it's at and, again,the depth.

In the past, most of these events have related to surface incidents or collisions of very large shipscarrying crude oil. And we've been able to actually quantify how much oil was at risk. When a vessel hasa collision or runs aground, we know the volume of the vessel, we know what's still onboard, and we can


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assess to a very precise degree how much product is actually in the water. What makes this anomalousis until we cap the well we have an indeterminate of oil potentially that could come to the surface andhave to be dealt with. And in terms of planning assumptions, we're planning for a very, very broad casescenario where there would be a lot of oil left there. But there is really no way to predict with absolutecertainty until the well is capped how much oil we're going to be dealing with. And that is probably themain feature that makes this unprecedented and asymmetric and difficult to deal with.

MR. GIBBS: Well, that's it for questions. What I will say in closing is I just want to, again, direct you tothe Joint Information Center and deepwaterhorizonresponse.com. We want to make sure that we'remaking all of our action officers, our policymakers, available to you to keep you up to date on latebreaking information.

For example, earlier this week, Admiral Landry went out and briefed on the new information that we'dlearned during the course of the day on Wednesday regarding the identification of an additional breach,bringing to three the number of total breaches associated with this incident. And so we'll continue to keepyou up to date on developments, following them as we are very, very closely. And your point of contactobviously will continue to be the agency spokespeople, but also the Joint Information Center, which willbe making information and expertise available to you and to your colleagues in the press on a veryregular basis.

And so with that, we thank you all for taking some time with us and we'll be back in touch with youagain soon.

END 4:32 P.M. EDT

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Fw: Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #7

William Rhea to:Gerardo Acosta, Mikeal Adams, Jack Arias,Kenneth Boyce, Bonnie Braganza, GeorgeBrozowski, Michael Carrillo, Allen Chang,

05/05/2010 07:50 AM

Cc:Carl Edlund, Connie Suttice, Cathy Carter, Kishor Fruitwala, JeffreyRobinson, Joy Campbell, Laurie King, Paul Sieminski,Spalding.Susan, Thomas Diggs, Steve Vargo, William Luthans, Maria

----- Forwarded by William Rhea/R6/USEPA/US on 05/05/2010 06:45 AM -----


Susan Webster to:

Ben Harrison, Dawn Ison, DeboraBrowning, Carmen Assunto, MaryKemp, William Rhea, RobertMurphy, Stacey Dwyer, Tim Fryer,Nancy Jones, Carol Tedford,Pamela Travis, Shirley Quinones,Matthew Loesel, Jeannine Hale

05/04/2010 04:29 PM

Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of MexicoRegion 6 REOC Update

Subject: Region 6 Update # 7

Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of MexicoDate: May 4, 2010To: Incident Command

Thru: Planning Section

From: Situation UnitReporting Period: May 3, 2010 1300 May 4, 2010 1300 1. Background

Site Name: Deepwater HorizonIncident

FPN#: N10036

MobilizationDate:

4/27/2010 Start Date: 4/28/2010


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2. Current Situation One EPA Representative is at Incident Command (Houma) and another EPARepresentative is at Area Command (Robert), both are directly interfacing with UnifiedCommand.

2.1 (USCG) Incident Command Post (Houma, LA)

EPA Representatives are coordinating with Environmental, Safety, SCAT, andOperations Units to:

o Obtain copies of requested plans;o Obtain environmental data plans and maps;o Obtain situation documents;o Coordinating the use of ASPECT for anticipated in-situ burn activities.

Working with BP on establishing sub-sea dispersant testing and establishment of potential protocols.Coordinating Community Involvement support between Coast Guard and EPA.Acquired air monitoring data for worker health and safety collected off-shore, at the spilllocation in the Gulf.Coordinated sampling methodology and data dispersion plans between UnifiedCommand and EPA.

2.2 (USCG) Area Command Post (Robert, LA)The Subsurface Dispersant test application is expected to continue until about 1000 hrs

Samples collected from ROV in support of Dispersant test are being picked up thismorning for transport to LSU for analysis.Aerial observation is expected to occur this morning from USCG, BP, and Aspectaircraft.Efforts continue to locate a vessel to support sampling and monitoring (Phase 1 plan) tosupport potential ongoing subsea dispersant application.NOAA is loading all available aerial imagery, booming strategy, SCAT data, and otherdata into ERMANOAA is requesting that all available data feeds be directed to George Graettinger ([email protected] ).

2.3 Air Monitoring/SamplingAir monitoring and sampling ongoing in Venice operations area (VOCs and Particulates):

o Venice, LA - 29.25274 N, 89.35750 W - V02 - located at USCG (ongoingmonitoring);

o Boothville, LA - 29.31449 N, 89.38433 W - V03 - located at Welding Supply Co.(ongoing monitoring);o Fort Jackson, LA - 29.35714 N. 89.45605 W - V04 (being relocated due to

increased dust at V04 location).Air monitoring and sampling ongoing in Chalmette operations area (VOCs andParticulates):

Chalmette , LA 29.94562, -89.9721 C01 - located at Fire Station number 3, nearocorner of Jackson Street and Judge Perez;o Poydras, LA 29.86609, -89.89108 C02 - located at Fire Station number 8;o Hopedale, LA 29.82209, -89.60862 C03 - located at the Emergency OperationsCenter.


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Each air monitoring location has 4 pieces of air equipment:DataRAM - monitoring particulate matter;oo AreaRae - monitoring VOCs;o PQ200 - samples for PM10 (particulates);o SUMMA Canisters per location - sample for VOCs.

Heavy rains in Chalmette and Venice required the rigging of tarps to protect themonitoring stations and continue air monitoring activities.All air monitoring/sampling stations are monitored throughout the day (24 hours) forimmediate reporting of any elevated VOC or particulate levels. The maximum reading isreported to the OSC at Area Command Post in Venice and Chalmette.Real-time air monitoring data from midnight to midnight each day is reviewed for fieldQA and uploaded into SCRIBE by 1200 each day and available to EPA Headquarters.12 Suma canisters (for VOC) were collected during this operational period. Samples willbe shipped before noon today. The 3 PM2.5 (for particulate) samples were prepared forshipment. To ensure proper temperature the filter samples will held on ice and shippedTuesday. 12 Summa and 3 filter samples will be shipped Tuesday .

Venice operations are relocating air sampling/monitoring location V04 due to increasedtraffic on road nearby causing dusty conditions.EPA summary of air monitoring/sampling activities:

Air Monitoring & Samples

DataRAM (PM10)

AreaRaeSUMMA Canisters

PM2.5 TOTALS FOR 5/3

Venice 3 locs/24 hr

3 locs/24 hr

9 3 12

Chalmette 3 locs/24 hr

3 locs/24 hr

12 3 15

TOTAL TO DATE

6 locs/24 hr

6 locs/24 hr

55 18

*QAQC samples not included in sample count2.4 Water/Sediment Sampling

EPA continues to conduct water and sediment sampling at locations provided by EPAHeadquarters and selected through National Coastline Condition Assessment (NCCA)program. The NCCA sample locations are sampled every four years by state agencieswith U.S. Coastlines. Sample parameters and locations were also selected in coordinationwith the EPA Region 6 Water Quality Division.Water and sediment sampling not conducted in Chalmette operations on 5/3 due to poorweather conditions and fuel logistics issues (resolved). Water/sediment sampling teamprepared for deployment to the Lake Borgne area to collect samples from thepredetermined NCA-10 locations on 5/4.Venice water operations collected sediment and surface water samples from 2 locationsnear shore and 5 offshore locations. Sample teams sampling off-shore were unable tocollect sediment at 4 locations due to water depth and potential currents.One water and sediment sampling team will be deployed this morning. They will collect2 of the last 4 samples assigned to Venice Branch on 5/4.EPA summary of water/sediment activities:


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Water/Sediment Samples

Water Sediment TOTAFOR 5/

Venice 7 3 10Chalmette 0 0 0TOTAL TO DATE 23 18 *QAQC samples not included in sample count

2. 5 TAGAOn 5/3, TAGA 1554 performed mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southern, LA andMississippi; from Dear Island, LA to Gautier, MS. No BTEX observed above low ppbvlevels during any monitoring events - the concentrations observed were associated withvehicular traffic or isolated sources.

On 5/4, TAGA 1553 continues to perform mobile monitoring for (BTEX) inSoutheastern, LA and TAGA 1554 performs mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southern,LA and Mississippi.

2.6 ASPECT

ASPECT plane is continuing to conduct over flights at the direction of EPARepresentative based on current conditions provided by field teams and BP operations.Specifically, overflights will occur during dispersant applications and in-situ burns.On 5/3 conducted over flights near the drill rig and the potenitally affected by the oilspill. Weather conditions prevented InfraRed photography and most viable photographs.Pilot reports indicate that many beaches in the Chandeleur Islands are oiled but themarshes show little visible change from yesterday. Visible oil was observed through veryintense haze/fog. They are working to collect spectral data over an area that appears tohave several ships working.On 5/4, a computer malfunction prevented early morning flights. Over flights wereinitiated at 1130 and targeted drill rig. Crew reported the definite edge of a major oil slick located at 29.4247N, 88.6813W (approximately 20 miles from the Chandeleur Islands).Crew also reported oil 2-3 miles offshore on the west side of the delta (position reportedas 28.8792N 89.4257W).

2.7 Water Quality Protection Division UpdateThe Region 6 Water Quality Protection Division provided a situation update includingimpact analysis, monitoring and assessment, and drinking water (see attached).

2.8 Summary of Air Quality Testing In Residential and Commercial Areas Along theGulf Coast reported by CTEH (Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health)from 5/3

# of Measurements

Avg Concentration

(ppm)VOCs 357 0 Hydrogen 312 0


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SulfideSulfur Dioxide

191 0

Benzene 30 0 Total 890

# of Measurements

Avg Concentration

(mg/m3)Particulate Matter (PM10)

68 0.0362

Total 68

3. EPA Assets3.1 Current Assets Deployed

Activated in Dallas, TXREOC is activatedoSRICT activatedoRRT activatedo

Deployed Personnel

Personnel

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,LA

Chalmette, LA

EPA - OSC 6 1 2 1

- RSC 4 1 1- PIO 3- Other 1

START 4 14 12ERT Contractor 1TAGA PersonnelASPECTPersonnelOther TOTALS 14 16 4 3 1 13

Deployed Equipment

Equipment

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,LA

Chalmette, LA

Mobile CommandPost 1

ASPECTTAGA Bus


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TOTALS 1 3.2 Future Assets Deployed

Additional OSCs as neededSTART personnel

4. Daily Cost Estimates

EPAPersonnelEst. Spent

EPATravel

Est.Spent

EPAContracts

Est.Spent

TOTALEst.

Spent

TOTALObligation

s

TOTALUSCGPRFACeiling Bala

USCGPRFAFPN

N10036 $72,600$13,59

6 $399,300$485,49

6 $916,696$1,000,00

0$51

TOTALEPA

Funded $72,600

$13,59

6 $399,300

$485,49

6 $916,696

$1,000,00

0

$51

LouisianaTotal

$72,600

$13,596

$399,300

$485,496

$916,696

$1,000,000

$514,504

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received this email in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this email from

your system. Thank you. Deepwater Horizon REOC Situation Report_7.docDeepwater Horizon REOC Situation Report_7.doc

Daily Summary MC 252 Oil Spill 5_3.pdfDaily Summary MC 252 Oil Spill 5_3.pdf 050410 SitExecsum.pdf050410 SitExecsum.pdf


24/188


William Rhea to:Gerardo Acosta, Mikeal Adams, Jack Arias,Kenneth Boyce, Bonnie Braganza, GeorgeBrozowski, Michael Carrillo, Allen Chang,

05/06/2010 11:43 AM

Cc:Carl Edlund, Connie Suttice, Cathy Carter, Kishor Fruitwala, JeffreyRobinson, Joy Campbell, Laurie King, Paul Sieminski,Spalding.Susan, Thomas Diggs, Steve Vargo, William Luthans, Maria

----- Forwarded by William Rhea/R6/USEPA/US on 05/06/2010 10:39 AM -----


Susan Webster to:

Ben Harrison, Dawn Ison, DeboraBrowning, Carmen Assunto, MaryKemp, William Rhea, RobertMurphy, Stacey Dwyer, Tim Fryer,Nancy Jones, Carol Tedford,Pamela Travis, Shirley Quinones,Matthew Loesel, Jeannine Hale

05/05/2010 05:58 PM



Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of MexicoDate: May 5, 2010To: Incident CommandThru: Planning Section

From: Situation UnitReporting Period: May 4, 2010 1300 May 5, 2010 1300 1. Background

Site Name: Deepwater Horizon Incident FPN#: N10036MobilizationDate:

4/27/2010 Start Date: 4/28/2010


25/188



EPA requested SOW change and funding increase to $5 million.EPA Representative provided its Public/Environmental Sampling information to theSafety and Environmental units of Unified Command.EPA Representative coordinated with the Safety unit to provide sampling media foroffshore near the drilling rig with SUMMA canisters and a tedlar bag. CTEH/USCG willtransport and collect sample media and return to EPA.EPA Representative coordinated with USDA about Aquariums with intakes within theGulf of Mexico and will provide those to command once obtained.In a meeting with the Environmental Unit, EPA was recognized for its efforts withPublic/Environmental sampling/monitoring along with pushing the use of a GIS unit andArcGIS Server installation.

According to the Unified Command Ops Section, the 5/5 in-situ burn is scheduled tobegin at approximately 1200. OSC Moore alerted and instructed ASPECT to conduct anover flight of the burn.

2.2 (USCG) Area Command Post (Robert, LA)The Subsurface Dispersant test application is now known to have extended beyond 1000hrs.Communications between dispersant operations run from Houma and Area Command EUhave proven to be poor.Samples collected from ROV in support of Dispersant test had still not been sent to LSUfor analysis as of 1400 hrs on 5/4.Aerial observation by Aspect aircraft indicated heavy oiling in the rig area. Comparisonwith data collected on 4/28 will be necessary to determine if subsea dispersantapplication has impacted the surface slick.A commercial research vessel has been contracted by BP to support potential samplingand monitoring (Phase 1 plan) to support ongoing subsea dispersant application.NOAA is loading all available aerial imagery, booming strategy, SCAT data, and otherdata into ERMA.EPA Logistics Strike Team delivered LSV2 to Area Command at 1630 hrs on 5/4.


o Venice, LA - 29.25274 N, 89.35750 W - V02 - located at USCG (ongoing

monitoring);o Boothville, LA - 29.31449 N, 89.38433 W - V03 - located at Welding Supply Co.(ongoing monitoring);o Fort Jackson, LA - 29.35714 N. 89.45605 W - V04 (Deactivated at approx. 07505/5 due to increased dirt road dust);o Fort Jackson, LA 29.35699 N, 89.45487 W V05 (Activated at approx. 0805;ongoing monitoring).

Air monitoring and sampling ongoing in Chalmette operations area (VOCs and


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Particulates):Chalmette , LA 29.94562, -89.9721 C01 - located at Fire Station number 3, nearocorner of Jackson Street and Judge Perez;o Poydras, LA 29.86609, -89.89108 C02 - located at Fire Station number 8;o Hopedale, LA 29.82209, -89.60862 C03 - located at the Emergency OperationsCenter.

Each air monitoring location has 4 pieces of air equipment:DataRAM - monitoring particulate matter;oo AreaRae - monitoring VOCs;o PQ200 - samples for PM10 (particulates);o SUMMA Canisters per location - sample for VOCs.

All air monitoring/sampling stations are monitored throughout the day (24 hours) forimmediate reporting of any elevated VOC or particulate levels. The maximum reading isreported to the OSC at Area Command Post in Venice and Chalmette.Real-time air monitoring data from midnight to midnight each day is reviewed for fieldQA and uploaded into SCRIBE by 1200 each day and available to EPA Headquarters.

Twelve SUMMA canisters (for VOC) were collected during this operational period.Samples will be shipped before noon today. Six PM2.5 (for particulate) samples wereprepared for shipment. To ensure proper temperature the filter samples will held on iceand shipped Tuesday. Twelve SUMMA and 6 filter samples will be shipped Tuesday.Venice has relocated air sampling/monitoring location V04 due to increased traffic onroad nearby causing dusty conditions. The new location is V05 at 29.35699 N, 89.45487W.Chalmette operations had additional equipment delivered to conduct Benzene monitoringif the VOC levels exceed the 10 PPM action level.Venice operations reported that air monitoring data did not exceed action levels forVOCs or particulates (PM10). Chalmette air monitoring data is pending field QA.

Air sampling conducted in Venice area on 4/28-4/30 had no exceedences for VOCs &particulates(PM2.5).EPA summary of air monitoring/sampling activities:


DataRAM (PM10)



Venice 3 locs/24 hr

3 locs/24 hr

6 3 9


3 locs/24 hr

6 3 9

TOTAL TO

DATE

6

locs/24 hr

6

locs/24 hr67 24

*QAQC samples not included in sample count

2.4 Water/Sediment SamplingEPA continues to conduct water and sediment sampling at locations provided by EPAHeadquarters and selected through National Coastline Condition Assessment (NCCA)program. The NCCA sample locations are sampled every four years by state agencieswith U.S. Coastlines. Sample parameters and locations were also selected in coordinationwith the EPA Region 6 Water Quality Division.


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burn to start.

2.7 Water Quality Protection Division UpdateThe Region 6 Water Quality Protection Division provided a situation update includingimpact analysis, monitoring and assessment, and drinking water (see attached).


# of

Measurements

Avg Concentration

(ppm)VOCs 289 0.005 Hydrogen Sulfide

237 0

Sulfur Dioxide

137 0


*Benzene and sulfur dioxide measured with detector tubes

# of

Measurements

Avg Concentration

(mg/m3)Particulate Matter

(PM10)

162 0.0333

Total 68 *PM10 is particulate matter less than 10 microns


Activated in Dallas, TXREOC is activatedoSRICT activatedoRRT activatedo

Deployed Personnel

Personnel

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,LA

Chalmette, LA

EPA - OSC 6 1 2 1- RSC 4 1 1- PIO 3- Other 2 1 1


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START 4 14 12ERT Contractor 1TAGA PersonnelASPECTPersonnelOther TOTALS 14 16 6 3 1 14

Deployed Equipment

Equipment

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,LA

Chalmette, LA


ASPECTTAGA BusLRV 1 1TOTALS 1 1 1

4. Daily Cost Estimates (as of 5/4)


EPATravel

Est.Spent

EPAContracts

Est.Spent

TOTALEst.

Spent

TOTALObligation

s

TOTALUSCGPRFACeiling Bala

USCGPRFAFPN

N10036 $72,600$13,59

6 $399,300$485,49

6 $916,696$1,000,00

0$51

TOTALEPA

Funded $72,600$13,59

6 $399,300$485,49

6 $916,696$1,000,00

0$51

LouisianaTotal

$72,600

$13,596

$399,300

$485,496

$916,696

$1,000,000

$514,504

CONFIDENTIALITY: This email and attachments may contain information which is

confidential and proprietary. Disclosure or use of any such confidential or proprietaryinformation without the written permission of Weston Solutions, Inc. is strictly prohibited. If youreceived this email in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this email from

your system. Thank you. Deepwater Horizon REOC Situation Report_8.pdfDeepwater Horizon REOC Situation Report_8.pdf WQ Situation Update #3 .pdfWQ Situation Update #3 .pdf

Daily Summary MC 252 Oil Spill 5_4.pdfDaily Summary MC 252 Oil Spill 5_4.pdf


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Fw: Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #9Patrick Young to: George Pettigrew 05/06/2010 04:32 PMCc: "Nickle, Richard", Deborah Burgin, Mark Johnson

Patrick Young, MS, RSCDR, US Public Health ServiceEPA/ATSDRATSDR Regional Rep., Region VI1445 Ross Ave 6SF-LDallas, Texas [email protected] Forwarded by Patrick Young/R6/USEPA/US on 05/06/2010 03:31 PM -----

Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #9

Paige Delgado to:

Warren Zehner, Mike McAteer, GaryMoore, Nancy Jones, James Staves,Eric Delgado, Nicolas Brescia, JoeSchaefer

05/06/2010 02:45 PM

Cc:Susan Webster, John Martin, Althea Foster, Monica Smith, PatrickYoung, Karen McCormick, Chris Petersen, Laura Hunt, Craig Carroll,daniel.odem, Lisa Bokun, Betty Williamson, William Bradley

Paige DelgadoFederal On-Scene CoordinatorPrevention and Response Branch (6SF-PO)U.S. EPA Region VIOffice: 214.665.2724Cell: 469.371.2529

----- Forwarded by Paige Delgado/R6/USEPA/US on 05/06/2010 02:34 PM -----

From: "Fuller, Kris" To: Mark Hansen/R6/USEPA/US@EPA, John Martin/R6/USEPA/US@EPA, Craig

Carroll/R6/USEPA/US@EPA

Cc: Paige Delgado/R6/USEPA/US@EPADate: 05/06/2010 02:28 PMSubject: Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #9


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Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of MexicoDate: May 6, 2010To: Incident Command

Thru: Planning SectionFrom: Situation UnitReporting Period: May 5, 2010 1300 May 6, 2010 1300 1. Background

Site Name: Deepwater Horizon Incident FPN#: N10036MobilizationDate:

4/27/2010 Start Date: 4/28/2010



EPA Representative requested samples of the dispersant being used (Corexit 9527 and9500) and is awaiting a response.EPA Representative continued to provide documentation to the REOC.EPA Representative discussed E&P Waste with BP. Waste Disposal Plan currently indraft form.EPA Representative coordinated with BP on sampling plans and potential transitions.EPA Representative coordinated offshore air samples with BP - BP Contractor will pullSumma and Tedlar bags. EPA will analyze tedlar bags with TAGA - Summa grabs willgo to BP Contractor procured lab.EPA Representative obtained dispersant report.

2.2 (USCG) Area Command Post (Robert, LA)Presented proposed subsea dispersant monitoring plan to RRT signatory agencies forconcurrence. Any future subsea dispersant application will be contingent upon approval of thisplan by those agencies and BP.


o Venice, LA - 29.25274 N, 89.35750 W - V02 - located at USCG (ongoingmonitoring);

o Boothville, LA - 29.31449 N, 89.38433 W - V03 - located at Welding Supply Co.


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(ongoing monitoring);o Fort Jackson, LA 29.35699 N, 89.45487 W V05 (Activated at approx. 0805;ongoing monitoring).

Air monitoring and sampling ongoing in Chalmette operations area (VOCs andParticulates):

Chalmette , LA 29.94562, -89.9721 C01 - located at Fire Station number 3, nearocorner of Jackson Street and Judge Perez;o Poydras, LA 29.86609, -89.89108 C02 - located at Fire Station number 8;o Hopedale, LA 29.82209, -89.60862 C03 - located at the Emergency OperationsCenter.

Each air monitoring location has 4 pieces of air equipment:DataRAM - monitoring particulate matter;oo AreaRae - monitoring VOCs;o PQ200 - samples for PM10 (on 5/6 PQ200 will be replaced with E-BAM airmonitors);o SUMMA Canisters per location - sample for VOCs.

All air monitoring/sampling stations are monitored throughout the day (24 hours) forimmediate reporting of any elevated VOC or particulate levels. The maximum reading isreported to the OSC at Area Command Post in Venice and Chalmette.Real-time air monitoring data from midnight to midnight each day is reviewed for fieldQA and uploaded into SCRIBE by 1200 each day and available to EPA Headquarters.Fifteen SUMMA canisters (for VOC) were collected during this operational period.Samples will be shipped before noon today. Six PM2.5 (for particulate) samples wereprepared for shipment. To ensure proper temperature the filter samples will held on iceand shipped Wednesday. Fifteen SUMMA and 6 filter samples will be shippedWednesday.Chalmette operations now have additional equipment available to conduct Benzenemonitoring if the VOC levels exceed the 10 PPM action level.On 5/5 in Venice operations, equipment problems prevented data logging fromDataRams only at stations V02 and V05. Equipment issues are resolved and particulatemonitoring data from all three stations are being logged .Venice and Chalmette operations reported that air monitoring data did not exceed actionlevels for VOCs or particulates (PM10). Particulate air monitoring at C02 and C01incomplete due to equipment issues.EPA summary of air monitoring/sampling activities:


DataRAM (PM10)



Venice 3

locs/24 hr 3

locs/24 hr 9 3 12


3 locs/24 hr

6 3 9

TOTAL TO DATE

6 locs/24 hr

6 locs/24 hr

82 30

*QAQC samples not included in sample count2.4 Water/Sediment Sampling


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EPA continues to conduct water and sediment sampling at locations provided by EPAHeadquarters and selected through National Coastline Condition Assessment (NCCA)program. The NCCA sample locations are sampled every four years by state agencieswith U.S. Coastlines. Sample parameters and locations were also selected in coordinationwith the EPA Region 6 Water Quality Division.

Representatives from the Water Division and the REOC Environmental Units from R6and R4 conduct a conference call three times a week with the HQ EOC to discuss thecoordination and consistency of water and sediment sampling across the DeepwaterHorizon Incident Response.Chalmette water operation team deployed to Lake Pontchartrain and reported no oiledwildlife, no oil observed or odors detected. The team was unable to recover sedimentsamples due to rip-rap rock covering the bottom. Weather is favorable for water/sedimentsampling operations for today 5/5.Two Venice water operation teams were deployed to sample newly added water andsediment sampling locations along the southern Louisiana coastline west of Venice.Analytical data for water and sediment samples collected on 5/5 in the Venice area reflect

conditions before impact from crude oil, however a few results exceed site-specificscreening levels for metals.EPA summary of water/sediment activities:

Water/Sediment Samples

Water Sediment TOTAFOR 5/

Venice 4 4 12Chalmette 1 0 6TOTAL TO DATE 28 21 *QAQC samples not included in sample count

2. 5 TAGATAGA 1553 continues to perform mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southeastern LA Slidell to Venice. No BTEX observed above low ppbv levels during any monitoringevents - the concentrations observed were associated with vehicular traffic or isolatedsources.TAGA 1554 performs mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southern LA and MS - Gasque,AL, around Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island - Continued west on RT 90 from Grand Bayto Long Beach, MS. No BTEX observed above low ppbv levels during any monitoringevents - the concentrations observed were associated with vehicular traffic or isolatedsources.TAGA 1553 continues to perform mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southeastern LA andTAGA 1554 performs mobile monitoring for (BTEX) in Southern LA, MS, and AL.

2.6 ASPECTASPECT plane is continuing to conduct over flights at the direction of IncidentCommand based on current conditions provided by field teams and BP operations.Specifically, over flights will occur during dispersant applications and in-situ burns.Recommended priority today (5/6) will include air monitoring of any oil burns and additionaldata (IR/Spectral/photo) collection in the dispersant area.ASPECT observations in transit to the burn area:

Line of oil near the Chandeleur Islands, more north than yesterday 29.9621N,o88.8513W (approximately 2 miles west of the northern islands);


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Large mass of oil at 29.9097N, 88.8513W (approximately 2 miles west of theocentral Chandeleur Isalands-near Shoalwater Bay, ust north of the BretonNational Wildlife Refuge).

At 1150 on 5/6, ASPECT reported that they were successful in collecting data over the

fire and smoke plume. Chemical results are all non detect. 2.7 Water Quality Protection Division Update

The Region 6 Water Quality Protection Division provided a situation update includingimpact analysis, monitoring and assessment, and drinking water (see attached).


# of

Measurements

Avg Concentration

(ppm)

VOCs 370 0.001 Hydrogen Sulfide

331 0

Sulfur Dioxide

141 0


*Benzene and sulfur dioxide measured with detector tubes

# of

Measurements

Avg Concentration

(mg/m3)Particulate Matter (PM10)

230 0.037

Total 68 *PM10 is particulate matter less than 10 microns


Activated in Dallas, TXREOC is activatedoSRICT activatedo

RRT activatedo

Deployed Personnel

Personnel

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,LA

Chalmette, LA

EPA - OSC 3 1 2 1


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- RSC 12 1 1- PIO 3- Other 5 2 1 1

START 5 16 13ERT Contractor 1

TAGA PersonnelASPECTPersonnelOther TOTALS 25 18 6 3 1 15

Deployed Equipment

Equipment

Dallas,TX

Venice,LA

Robert, LA

Houma, LA

NewOrleans,

LA

Chalmette, LA


ASPECTTAGA BusLRV 1 1Gooseneck Trailer 120 KW Generator 1

4. Daily Cost Estimates (as of 5/4)


EPATravel

Est.Spent

EPAContracts

Est.Spent

TOTALEst.

Spent

TOTALObligation

s

TOTALUSCGPRFACeiling

Balae

USCGPRFAFPN

N10036 $99,000$38,27

9 $640,000$777,27

9 $967,279$868,80

0 $91,5TOTAL

EPAFunded $99,000

$38,279 $640,000

$777,279 $967,279

$868,800 $91,5

LouisianaTotal

$99,000

$38,279

$640,000

$777,279

$967,279

$868,800

$91,521

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