State of the Spill - Week 3

Spill Size/Extent

Size: 20,748,000 gallons
Continuing rate of spill: 1,092,000 gallons per day.

More details:
http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/2010/05/updated-oil-spill-counter-gulf-oil.html

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/05/gulf-oil-spill-new-spill-rate.html

Analysis of aerial photographs by Skytruth on May 9 indicated slicks and sheen covering an area of about 4,384 square miles. Oil has been reported hitting the beach at South Pass, near Port Eads, Louisiana and also on the Chandeleur Islands. Earlier reports documented oil on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

State of Efforts to Stop Flow

Today the Washington Post published an article titled "Engineers trying multiple tactics in battle to plug oil well in Gulf of Mexico" that discussed Plans 'A through F' to try to deal with the ongoing oil well blowout. Plan A was the blowout preventer valve that either did not close off or only partially closed. Plan B was the 40-foot-tall steel containment dome or 'coffer dam' that failed when gas hydrate crystals clogged the inside of the dome. Plan C is a smaller dome that may not capture as much of the flow but may be less resistant to clogging. That plan may be tried in the next few days. Plan D is a "hot tap" which would attempt to cut into the damaged riser pipe and connect another pipe to collect the oil. Plan E has been termed a "junk shot" or "top kill" which would inject a mixture of solid material, ranging from shredded tires to golf balls, to clog up the well, followed by drilling mud and cement to permanently seal it. Plan F is to drill a new well (actually two wells are being drilled simultaneously) to intercept the leaking well 3-1/2 miles below the ocean floor and inject cement to kill the well.
More info

Volunteer Response Resources

Surfrider volunteer oil spill toolkit

Response websites:
http://www.oilspillvolunteers.com/
http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/
http://tinyurl.com/audubonvolunteer

Volunteer Phone numbers: (state-specific contact information below)

Deepwater Horizon Incident Volunteer Hotline: 866-448-5816
Vessel of Opportunities Program - fishermen should phone 425-745-8017

Fact sheets related to oil spills in general and this spill: http://www.piersystem.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/ http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm

Official Response Resources

United incident command
Twitter: http://twitter.com/usnoaagov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov
Podcasts: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html
NOAA Roles and Tools: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/oceans/spills/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/

Phone numbers:

NOAA media inquiries: keeley.belva@noaa.gov or 301-713-3066
For response inquiries: Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985-902-5231 or 985-902-5240
BP Horizon Response Hotline: 281-366-5511
To report oil, or general Community and Volunteer Information: 866-448-5816
To report oiled or injured wildlife: 866-557-1401

Florida Specific Volunteer Information:

Oil spill related clean up: http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/
Opportunities will be posted as they become available.

If you live in these areas and want to help:
Okaloosa County call: 850-651-7150 


Bay County call: 763-6587 


Walton County: go to http://www.waltonso.org/

Florida Palm Beach/Treasure Coast area volunteers can email Surfrider's Florida Regional Manager Ericka Davanzo: edavanzo@surfrider.org

Donations Needed

Help already trained personnel prepare for animal response by giving supplies or donating. The Wildlife Sanctuary in Pensacola: www.pensacolawildlife.com/ is looking for the following donations:
--Baby blankets
--Towels
--Heating pads (w/o auto shut off if possible)
--Large Rubbermaid containers with lids
--Heating lamps
--Rubbermaid troughs (can be purchased at Tractor Supply)
--Large backyard portable pools like found at Wal-Mart

The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores is looking for volunteers and donations of the following supplies:
--Linens
--Kennels
--Towels
--Sheets
--Dawn dish detergent
--Pepto-Bismol and toothbrushes

The sanctuary is a local dropoff center for the donations at 18328 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores. It is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. See its website for details or call (727) 391-6211 for information, or e-mail jessicag@seabirdsanctuary.com.

Florida Information Numbers and Websites:

DEP Related Media Questions: Amy Graham at 850-245-2112 or -2113
Florida Emergency Information Line: 800-342-3557
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) incident response website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

CRCL encourages pre-veterinary students, veterinary technicians, and anyone with HAZWOPER training to volunteer. Anyone with experience in wildlife handling, rehabilitation, or hazardous materials clean up is also strongly encouraged to volunteer.

Resources in Other Gulf States:

Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - (228) 374-5000
Galveston Bay Foundation www.galvbay.org/volunteer_oil_signup.html

Ecological Damage

Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana has been closed to public entry. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has established 10 staging areas that are ready to protect sensitive shorelines (Biloxi, MS; Pensacola, FL; Venice, LA; Pascagoula, MS; Port Sulphur, LA; Port Fourchon, LA; Gulfport, MS; Dauphin Island, AL; Shell Beach, LA; Slidell, LA) . FWS has seen very few oiled birds, but they did recover 2 dead birds that were oiled (unknown species of tern and unknown species of egret). Two treated birds (northern gannet and brown pelican) have been released at the Archie Carr NWR.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has modified the area closed to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico due to the BP oil spill, which will include federal waters seaward of Louisiana state waters in the vicinity of Timbalier Island to waters off Florida’s Choctawhatchee Bay.

More Information & Call to Action

Help us track oil spill impacts at: http://oilspill.skytruth.org/

For more information: http://www.nottheanswer.org/
Urge Obama and Congress to ban new drilling: http://www.surfrider.org/nodrilling
Join the Surfrider Foundation: http://www.surfrider.org/join