A series of sheen sightings in the area of Mississippi Canyon block 252 had indicated the possibility of a release from the riser pipe or other debris on the ocean floor from the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion and eventual sinking. However, further inspection of the wreckage site has indicated that this is not the case.

An ROV was deployed Oct. 4-5, 2011, and the footage was monitored by U.S. Coast Guard. These visual inspections indicated that there is no release of oil from the riser, the fuel tanks or any other debris at the wreckage site and no discharge or leaking from the riser or the wreckage was observed. Furthermore, there was no oil product either on the surface or subsurface that could be sampled.

The Macondo 252 well was capped on July 15, 2010, and permanently killed by sealing the well and annulus with cement on Sept. 19, 2010. The well was later plugged and abandoned with the approval and oversight of the Gulf Coast Incident Management Team Unified Command. Recent ROV footage of the capped Macondo 252 well has shown no evidence of a release from the wellhead or well.

The cause of the sheens remains under investigation.

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Capt. Duke Walker approved the last of the inspections that are intended to identify areas that may have been impacted by oil as a result of storms passing through the Gulf of Mexico during the 2011 hurricane season.

"These post-hurricane season inspections are another layer of inspections for segments of shoreline that have either never been oiled or have already been declared clean and placed in a status where no further treatment was required," said Walker.

If any of the resurveyed shorelines fail to meet the established criteria for clean status, as set forth in the Shoreline Clean-up Completion Plan, they will be placed in a response status until clean-up criteria is met.

"The inspections will subject these shoreline areas, which were selected by their respective state on-scene coordinators and Federal Trustees, to additional rigorous inspection to ensure that they meet the clean-up criteria established by the SCCP." said Walker. "If oil is detected, and matches oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill, BP's crews will clean it."

The Coast Guard, Gulf States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of the Interior and BP developed the SCCP collaboratively. The plan builds on previous response plans to ensure that any and all shorelines impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are clean.

The Federal On-Scene Coordinator directed development of the Shoreline
Cleanup Completion Plan, which involved participation from and
coordination with the affected Gulf Coast states, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Department of Interior and the responsible
party, BP. The plan will help ensure that defined standards will be
used to determine when cleanup actions in each affected area are
complete.

"Our commitment to completing the final elements of the cleanup
operations is addressed in this plan," said Hein.  "In all, more than 90
percent of shoreline impacted by the spill is now ready to transition
from removal to restoration and has met the agreed upon standards."

Cleanup will continue until all areas identified in the plan are designated as clean by the standards agreed to by the FOSC and SOSCs.

"We still have ongoing cleanup in sensitive wildlife nesting habitat and
archeological sites," said Hein. "However, there are significant
portions of our coastline that are ready to move into the next phase, so
that the Gulf Coast can start restoration projects critical to help heal
the region."

Additional information on the Shoreline Cleanup Completion Plan can be
found at www.restorethegulf.gov.

The report is comprised of Volume I, covering the areas of investigationunder the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard; Volume II, covering the areas of the investigation under BOEMRE jurisdiction; and a supplement to Volume I – the Final Action Memo from Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp.

The JIT was formed on April 27, 2010, by a convening order of the Departments of the Interior and Homeland Security to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill, and to make recommendations for safe operations of future oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The JIT held seven sessions of public hearings, received testimony from more than 80 witnesses and experts, and reviewed a large number of documents and exhibits pertaining to all aspects of the investigation.

Volume I, released April 22, 2011, includes findings on five aspects of the disaster – including the explosions on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon; the resulting fire; evacuations; the flooding and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon; and the safety systems of the MODU and its owner, Transocean. The Coast Guard's Final Action Memo details actions directed by Adm. Papp, as a result of the JIT's work, reflecting the Coast Guard's commitment to all of those affected by this tragic yet historic event and underscoring its commitment to the stewardship of our maritime environment.

Volume II includes findings on the causes, both direct and contributing, of the Macondo blowout and the resulting explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon. In Volume II, the Joint Investigation details evidence developed during the investigation and concludes that BP, Transocean and Halliburton's conduct in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations. Volume II also includes recommendations for the continued improvement of the safety of offshore operations. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BOEMRE launched the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability. An additional rule, which will be made available for public comment in the coming weeks, will incorporate additional safety requirements that are related to the findings of the investigation.

For more information on BOEMRE's new heightened safety standards, go to: http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm.

The final JIT Investigative Report can be found at: http://www.deepwaterinvestigation.com. This website will be archived on Sept. 30. Additional copies of the JIT Investigative report can also be found on homeport.uscg.mil and http://www.boemre.gov/.

The Coast Guard also announced Wednesday the release of the Federal On Scene Coordinator's report to the National Response Team. That report, available online at homeport.uscg.mil, provides a narrative of the response from the four Coast Guard admirals who served as Federal On Scene Coordinators during the BP oil spill. The federal on-scene coordinator report outlines the actions taken, resources committed, and challenges encountered during the response to the largest oil spill in U.S. history. It does not address the causes of the accident, focus on individual actions or prescribe lessons learned.

This early restoration agreement, the largest of its kind ever reached, represents a first step toward fulfilling BP’s obligation to fund the complete restoration of injured public resources, including the loss of use of those resources by the people living, working and visiting the area.  The Trustees will use the money to fund projects such as the rebuilding of coastal marshes, replenishment of damaged beaches, conservation of sensitive areas for ocean habitat for injured wildlife, and restoration of barrier islands and wetlands that provide natural protection from storms.

The agreement in no way affects the ultimate liability of BP or any other entity for natural resource damages or other liabilities, but provides an opportunity to help restoration get started sooner.  The selection of early restoration projects will follow a public process, and will be overseen by the Trustees.

The full natural resource damage assessment process will continue until the Trustees have determined the full extent of damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  At the end of the damage assessment process, the Trustees will take into account any benefits that were realized from these early restoration projects.   In addition to funding early restoration projects, BP will continue to fund the damage assessment and, together with the other responsible parties, will ultimately be obligated to compensate the public for the entire injury.  BP is providing the early restoration funds voluntarily, and is not required to do so at this stage of the damage assessment process.  The agreement will speed needed resources to the Gulf in advance of the completion of the assessment process.

To read the agreement, click here.

“This milestone agreement will allow us to jump-start restoration projects that will bring Gulf Coast marshes, wetlands, and wildlife habitat back to health after the damage they suffered as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  “This agreement accelerates our work on Gulf Coast restoration and in no way limits the ability of all the Natural Resource Trustees from seeking full damages from those who are responsible as the NRDA process moves forward.”

"One year after the largest oil spill in our history, we take a major step forward in the recovery of the Gulf of Mexico, for the environment and the people who depend on it for their livelihood and enjoyment. Today's agreement is a down payment on our promise to protect and restore the Gulf," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

"This agreement is a great first step toward restoring our natural resources destroyed by the BP oil spill," said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. "We are eager to continue working with public, state and federal co-trustees and BP to quickly convert this downpayment into projects to restore our damaged coast and replace our lost wildlife. We encourage BP to continue to address the damages from this spill through early restoration efforts."

“Alabama’s natural resources are environmentally diverse and an economic engine for our state and nation. Ecosystem restoration is vital to the economic vitality of the Alabama Gulf Coast,” said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. “Obtaining funding for these restoration projects is a major step forward in addressing the oil spill’s damage to our precious natural resources. I have the utmost confidence that the Alabama trustees will consider and identify projects and use these funds toward restoring our natural resources.”

"Since the day of the oil spill, our goals have been to make Mississippi whole and to assure that our coastal areas completely recover.  Today's unprecedented agreement is an important first step but it is only the first step. Mississippi will continue this work and will count on our many interested citizens to contribute their ideas and input as we all work to define the scope of these early projects and develop other restoration projects. Our goals have not changed. We will remain actively engaged in these and other projects until the Gulf is restored and our state is made whole," said Trudy D. Fisher, Mississippi Trustee, Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

“I’m pleased that after a year of uncertainty and concerns about environmental damages which occurred as a result of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, Florida will be able to use this early restoration money to initiate greatly needed environmental restoration projects,” said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard. “Because we have worked diligently to assess the environmental damage resulting from the spill, we are well positioned to be able to quickly begin performing important restoration projects and use Florida's share of the early restoration funds to assist our coastal communities with their continued recovery from the spill.”

“While the Texas coast was not as visibly impacted by this spill, our wetlands, bays, beaches and coastal waters were affected, and it makes sense to invest in places that can help jumpstart and maximize recovery of the entire Gulf,” said Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director. “There will be a public process in Texas and throughout the Gulf to consider and identify projects that make the best use of these funds for our coastal habitats and the fish, wildlife and people who depend upon them.”

The $1 billion in early restoration projects will be selected and implemented as follows:

• Each state – Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas – will select and implement $100 million in projects;
• The Federal Resource Trustees, NOAA and DOI, will each select and implement $100 million in projects;
• The remaining $300 million will be used for projects selected by NOAA and DOI from proposals submitted by the State Trustees.

All projects must meet the other requirements of the Framework Agreement and be approved by the Trustee Council comprised of all the natural resource trustees.

To read the early restoration agreement, click here.

# # #

Contact: Kim Amendola 727-551-5707 April 19, 2011

NOAA: All Federal waters of the Gulf once closed to fishing due to spill now open 

More than 1,000 square miles opened today

NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 1,041 square miles of Gulf waters immediately surrounding the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, just east of Louisiana. This is the twelfth and final reopening in federal waters since July 22, and opens all of the areas in Federal waters formerly closed to fishing due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

This reopening was announced after consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and under a reopening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states. 

“I am pleased to announce that all federal waters affected by the spill are now open to all fishing,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. “I thank fishermen and the public for their patience and FDA for its support and cooperation throughout this process while we worked diligently to ensure the integrity of Gulf seafood.”

NOAA sampled this area between November 11 and November 14, 2010, March 12 and March 16, 2011, and March 28 and April 1, 2011, for potentially affected finfish, including tuna, swordfish, and escolar. Sensory analyses of 86 finfish samples and chemical analyses of 112 finfish samples in eight composites followed the methodology and procedures in the reopening protocol, with sensory analysis finding no detectable oil or dispersant odors or flavors, and results of chemical analysis for oil-related compounds and dispersants well below the levels of concern. All test results are publicly available. 

As announced on October 29, NOAA and FDA developed and implemented a chemical test to detect the presence of dispersants in fish, oysters, crabs and shrimp. The level of concern for dispersants is 100 parts per million for finfish and 500 parts per million for shrimp. The test can reliably detect Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS) at levels of 2000 times below the lowest level of concern. The results of chemical testing showed that 99 percent of samples contained no detectable dispersant residues, and the few samples that did contain dispersant residues showed levels more than 1000 times lower than FDA levels of concern.

“Throughout this process, public health and safety has been our primary goal,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “This has been an extraordinary team effort and the reopening of these federal waters serves as a dramatic example of what cooperation between federal agencies can accomplish.”

NOAA continues to work closely with the FDA and the Gulf states to ensure seafood safety. Thousands of test results, all publicly available, prove Gulf seafood is safe from oil and dispersant contamination.  

The total area reopened today is about 0.4 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and 100 percent of the formerly closed area, as last modified on February 2, 2011. No oil or sheen has been documented in the area since August 4. At its peak, the closed area was 88,522 square miles, or 37 percent of Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.    

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us on Facebook.

On the Web:

History of federal reopenings in the Gulf:http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/BPOilSpillArchives.htm

Responsible parties are financially liable for all costs associated with oil removal, including efforts to stop the leak at its source, reduce the spread of oil, protect the shoreline and mitigate damage to the public health or welfare.

To provide full transparency of the ongoing efforts and to ensure that the American public is not held accountable for the costs of response activities, the Federal Government bills responsible parties regularly for costs approved by the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to support Federal, State, and local removal efforts and ensure the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is reimbursed on an ongoing basis.

This is the tenth bill the Administration has sent to date. The first nine bills have been paid in full by BP, totaling $632 million.

This invoice is based on specific Federal Government expenses that are subject to billing at this time, including expenses associated with the response of over two dozen Federal entities and agencies from four States, in accordance with the Federal On-Scene Coordinator request for assistance process. Federal response activities not subject to billing at this time, including future activities, will be billed to the responsible parties through subsequent invoices. In addition, these bills do not include any other costs for which BP and the other responsible parties are liable to any other party.

The United States Coast Guard is responsible for administering the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to ensure rapid response to oil spills, to compensate individuals and communities harmed by oil spills, and to ensure that the costs of response and cleanup are borne by the responsible parties.

During the meeting, task force members, including EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, a New Orleans native who chairs the task force, will review progress on the group’s Restoration Strategy and provide ongoing guidance to intergovernmental teams on the timeline of actions and the objectives of the president’s Executive Order. The strategy is envisioned as a blueprint for action in restoring the Gulf ecosystem and builds upon existing plans, good science and the input of the residents of the Gulf.

The New Orleans meeting will be the latest in a series of meetings that the task force is holding throughout the five Gulf States. The group held its first meeting in Pensacola, Florida on November 8, 2010. This meeting will provide follow-up on public input and recommendations on stakeholder engagement opportunities provided during the meeting in Pensacola. The task force is committed to ensuring ongoing input from Gulf residents and local leaders throughout the strategy development process and will continue to receive feedback during this meeting.

President Obama issued an Executive Order in October to create the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, continuing the administration's ongoing commitment to the gulf region. The task force works to integrate federal restoration efforts with those of local stakeholders, state and tribal governments, and to facilitate accountability and support throughout the restoration process. View the president’s Executive Order.

WHO:             Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force

WHAT:           Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Meeting                                                                                           

WHEN:          February 28, 2011 at 8 a.m. (Central Time)

WHERE:      New Orleans Marriott Hotel

                     555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA

To pre-register for this meeting, please email us at gulfcoasttaskforce@epa.gov. The meeting space is fully accessible.  If you have special needs or require translation, please let us know.

If you cannot attend the meeting and would like to share your individual thoughts and comments as the Ecosystem Restoration Strategy is developed, please send them via email to gulfcoasttaskforce@epa.gov or mail at

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force

Woodrow Wilson Center G1-1

Mail Code 1101 R

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue

 Washington, DC  20460

The Task Force may or may not respond to your individual comments.  Learn more about the Task Force.  We will continue to update this website with future announcements and important information. 

The report is intended to inform ongoing beach-area clean up operations by examining the environmental and human health risks posed by three types of remnant oil – tar mats in the shallow water, small tar balls on the shore and buried oil on beaches above the high tide line – that may remain in certain beach-areas after standard clean up operations are completed.  These risks are compared to the potential environmental impacts of pursuing additional cleanup operations.

Titled “Summary Report for Fate and Effects of Remnant Oil in the Beach Environment,” the report examines data sampled from four representative beaches at Grand Isle, La., Petit Bois Island, Miss., Bon Secour, Ala., and Fort Pickens, Fla. The report will help guide oil spill responders’ transition to monitoring and maintenance operations to address remnant oil deposits that remain on beaches that have already been successfully cleaned. During monitoring and maintenance, cleanup crews will conduct periodic inspections of beaches, receive reports from the public, and conduct cleanups as needed.

Results of a net environmental benefit analysis summarized in the report indicate that environmental impacts of remnant oil found on or near beaches after cleanup operations are relatively minor, and that cleanup operations beyond established standards may disturb sensitive habitats and wildlife – posing a greater environmental risk than leaving the residue in place. In these instances, further cleaning will likely do more harm than good to the ecosystem.

NEBA is based on collected samples and laboratory analysis, environmental models, and a review of existing literature. This process evaluates risks posed to species such as birds, sea turtles, small mammals, and aquatic species.  The report also examined human health risks from residual oil compared to Environmental Protection Agency benchmarks. OSAT2 weighed the risks and benefits of leaving remnant oil in place or removing it with the goal of achieving the quickest possible recovery for the area.

Key findings in the report include:

• Calculated human health effects from short and long-term exposures from remnant oil are below established EPA benchmarks for concern.
• There exists a minimal risk of oil leaching into groundwater from buried oil due to the combined effects of weathering, biodegradation, and the location of buried oil.
• Aggressive cleanup beyond established standards may likely threaten overall aquatic and wildlife resources. However, the report notes two particular routes of exposure that may pose potentially elevated risks to wildlife: (1) possible ingestion of tarballs by adult, subsurface-probing shore birds and (2) the risk of contact between buried oil and sea turtle eggs and young, both of which may require further study or monitoring to fully understand the risks or develop appropriate mitigation strategies.

This report will assist the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the BP Deepwater oil spill response as they work with state and local officials and environmental trustees to make determinations about when it would be best to stop or minimize active cleanups.  The final determination that no further treatment activity is required at a given site will be made in agreement with federal, state and local authorities.

This report is not intended to quantify the overall impacts of the spill to these beaches, which is the purview of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process; rather, it is intended to inform ongoing operational decisions by evaluating clean up and mitigation options based on current risks and conditions.  

The report was written by members of the Operational Science Advisory Team, which consisted of relevant scientific experts from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, EPA, and BP.  Contributions were also made by Temple University, and Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health and consultation and advice was provided by members of the federal Joint Analysis Group, a body that was established during the spill to assist in evaluating and analyzing response data.  

In keeping with the federal government’s commitment to transparency, this report and all the associated data on which it is based are being made available to the public on www.restorethegulf.gov.

For more information, please contact the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center at (713) 323-1670.

Click here to download a copy of the OSAT 2 report

Click here for additional report data