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President Obama To Again View Progress of BP Oil Spill Cleanup

Makes Second Trip To Gulf Coast

On Friday morning, May 28, the president will travel to the Louisiana Gulf Coast to assess the latest efforts to counter the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Administration has mobilized one of the largest responses to a catastrophic event in history, with more than 1,200 vessels in the region and more than 22,000 people, including many of the brightest scientific minds from both the public and private sector, working around the clock to mitigate the oil’s impact.

The President will join more than 22,000 people in the region, including many of the brightest scientific minds from both the public and private sector, who are working around the clock to mitigate the oil’s impact.

The administration will continue to hold the responsible parties accountable for repairing the damage and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a financial loss. BP continues to process claims via its claims website (www.bp.com/claims) and its helpline (1-800-440-0858). BP reports that 25,227 claims have been opened, from which $29.4 million has been disbursed. No claims have been denied at this time. There are more than 432 claims adjusters on the ground. To file a claim, visit www.bp.com/claims or call BP’s helpline at 1-800-440-0858. 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.


BP's live video feed. More here.

As the oil spill continues to threaten the way of life for many in the regions, particularly those who make a living from the oilspilled waters of the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 15 economic injury assistance loans totaling $571,000 for small businesses in the Gulf Coast region. Additionally, the agency has granted deferments on 64 existing SBA disaster loans in the region.

SBA is offering economic injury loans and deferrals on existing loans to fishing and fishing-dependent small businesses as a result of the Deepwater BP oil spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing waters. Additionally, homeowners in the region who have existing SBA disaster home loans can request a deferment if their business or employment has been impacted by the oil spill.
 
Photo of tanker oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska after the March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Earlier this week Admiral Thad Allen, and Carol Browner, Assistant to the the President for Energy and Climate Change, met with reporters in the James Brady briefing room of the White House to discuss the ongoing cleanup efforts in the region.

"There are a number of solutions and they're doing them in sequence based on risk. The ultimate solution is going to be to drill a relief well, take the pressure off that well and cap it. That will be sometime in August. We don't want to wait that long. So we’re trying a series of interventions, starting with the insertion tube to evacuate the oil that we can, the top kill shot that will be scheduled for I believe early Wednesday now to try and force mud down the blowout preventer into the well to stop the pressure so it can be sealed", Allen said in the press briefing.

"There’s a series of events. They're trying the least risky ones first and moving on down. But we cannot stop. We’ve got to try every means at our -- every means that we can to stop this leak."

Read more about the current Administration's efforts and response to the Golf Coast oil disaster here.

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