BP Complaints

WHAT: A pair of near-shore sub-surface monitoring demonstrations in Mississippi and Louisiana. Credentialed media are invited to Biloxi, Miss., and Venice, La., to receive demonstrations of near-shore aspects of the ongoing Sub-Surface Monitoring and Assessment Program. This program is designed to help oil spill responders best track and understand the fate of sub-surface oil and oil remnants in the Gulf of Mexico.

EVENT IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI:

WHERE: The tour and briefing in Biloxi, Miss., will take place on board a vessel in the Biloxi Bay.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

WHO: U.S. Coast Guard Lt. John Garr and Gary Petrae, NOAA Scientific Support Team.

CONTACT: Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at the ICP in Mobile: (251) 445-8965.

NOTE: For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.

EVENT IN LOUISIANA:

WHERE: The tour and briefing in Venice, La., will take place on a vessel and will include a demonstrastion of the SNARE Sentinel program at a facility in Venice, La.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. CDT.

WHO: Representatives from NOAA, EPA, and the SNARE Sentinel program.

CONTACT: Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at the ICP in Houma: (985) 493-7835.

NOTE: For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.

For information on the response efforts, please visit: www.restorethegulf.gov or www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.

WHAT: A pair of near-shore sub-surface monitoring demonstrations in Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle. Credentialed media are invited to Pensacola Bay, Fla., and Lake Borgne, La., to receive demonstrations of near-shore aspects of the ongoing Sub-Surface Monitoring and Assessment Program. This program is designed to help oil spill responders best track and understand the fate of sub surface oil and oil remnants in the Gulf of Mexico.

EVENT IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA:

WHERE: The tour and briefing in Pensacola, Fla., will take place on board a vessel in Pensacola Bay.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

WHO: U.S. Coast Guard Lt. John Garr and Ruth Yender, NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator.

CONTACT: Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at the ICP in Mobile: (251) 445-8965.

NOTE: For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.

EVENT IN SLIDELL, LOUISIANA:

WHERE: The tour and briefing in Slidell, La., will take place on board a vessel in Lake Borgne.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

WHO: NOAA representative and Chelsea Murphy, Staff Scientist at the SNARE Sentinel Program.

CONTACT: Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at the ICP in Houma: (985) 493-7835.

NOTE: For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.

 
WHAT:             Credentialed media are invited to accompany teams surveying the near shore and inshore waters to detect for the presence of oil beneath the water’s surface.       
 
WHERE:           650 Lemoyne Dr., Dauphin Island, Ala., 36528
 
WHEN:            Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 9 a.m. CDT (Tour duration is 4 to 5 hours.)
 
WHY:               ICP Mobile continues to systematically survey the near shore and inshore waters off the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle to detect whether oil is present beneath the water’s surface. This includes various sampling methods and techniques such as snares, sorbent pads, fluorometers and water and sediment sampling.        
 
WHO:              U.S. Coast Guard Chief Mark Boivin, On-Water Deputy Director and Gary Petrae, NOAA Deputy, Scientific Support Coordinator 
 
CONTACT:        Reservations are required.  For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at ICP Mobile:  (251) 445-8965
 
REQUIREMENTS:   For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.  
 
For more on the response effort, visit:        www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or www.restorethegulf.gov
 

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Unified Area Command continues to expand techniques and programs, as part of its aggressive monitoring efforts, to determine the presence of sub-surface oil in the coastal waters of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. 

“As we continue to expand the scope and resources dedicated to detect, monitor and sample for sub-surface oil and dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico, we continue to leverage a variety of techniques to help us better understand the impacts of the oil spill at all depths,” said Federal On-Scene Coordinator Admiral Paul Zukunft. “We are aggressively monitoring the fate of the oil in the Gulf, and these techniques will help to provide additional information as the full picture becomes clearer.”

Techniques and methods currently employed in near-shore waters include:

• Placement of snare sentinels – innovative strings of absorbent materials, deployed in shallow waters – at a variety of depths to gauge any presence of oil. If oil is detected, qualified sampling personnel are dispatched to obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.
• Sampling with equipment that scoops sediment from areas where the shoreline continues to be impacted. If anomalies are noted or oil is suspected, the sample is sent for testing.
• Trawling for floating tar balls or oiled-debris with specially-equipped, large shrimp boats off the coast. If the presence of oil is detected in an area, qualified sampling personnel obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.
• In coastal and offshore waters, “flourometers” – devices that shine fluorescent light through the water measure the light reflected and refracted back for indications that oil is present – are utilized by responders to screen for oil.
• If the presence of oil is detected in the water column, then qualified sampling personnel obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.  Sediment samples are also taken at designated locations.  If anomalies are noted or oil is suspected, the sample is sent for testing.
• Farther offshore, vessels are outfitted with sampling platforms – called rosettes – that have niskin bottles on them to take water samples to check for sub-surface oil offshore. These samples undergo chemical analysis at off-site locations for concentrations of oil, oil remnants and other compounds.

“A wide variety of U.S. government, private sector, university and other independent vessels are working offshore as part of our aggressive efforts to monitor for any sub-surface oil,” said NOAA Captain Barry Choy, who heads the Sub-Surface Monitoring Unit at ICP Houma. “Together these efforts ensure transparency in our assessment procedures.”

Several Vessels of Opportunity are participating in the sub-surface monitoring effort – transporting personnel and equipment and conduct surveys.

Survey and test data will be evaluated to determine if additional monitoring, sampling and testing are required. Representatives from federal, state and local agencies, the scientific community, industry and academia are working collaboratively in this survey and assessment over the next several weeks.    

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