[StBernard] Vitter fights to increase Louisiana Boom quantities

[Westley Annis]

Sorry Dave, you just can't wish it to happen.  

http://tinyurl.com/2fshmws

Maybe you can talk to the Senators from Alaska and get their communities to
turn loose of some of what they have.
(see article)

JY




	Dear Friend,
	
	
	
	Today I sent a letter to Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen calling
for an
	immediate increase in oil containment barriers, known as boom, along
	Louisiana's coast.
	
	
	
	According to the latest Coast Guard figures available, and based on
rough
	estimates, one mile of boom has been deployed to Louisiana for every
13.4
	miles of coastline within 200 miles of the ongoing oil discharge.
This
	1/13.4 ratio compares to 1/1.32 for Mississippi and 1/1.76 for
Alabama.
	Like Louisiana, Florida has a similarly low ratio.
	
	
	
	Because this calculation only accounts for coastline within 200
miles of the
	spill site, it does not include Louisiana's entire coast.  It does,
however,
	include the entire coastlines of Mississippi and Alabama, so the
calculation
	is plainly very fair and conservative
	
	
	
	I specifically asked Commandant Allen to look into this disparity
and
	quickly correct it.
	
	
	
	Of course, a big part of the solution is procuring much more boom
overall.
	Already, lack of available boom is slowing efforts in St Bernard
Parish,
	which I visited this morning. With significantly more available and
with
	Louisiana's coast being the closest to the spill site, I am working
to
	direct as much boom as possible to protect our coastline.
	
	
	
	If you're a Louisiana constituent affected by this spill and have
concerns
	that BP is not committing enough resources or providing access to
the claims
	program or the Vessel of Opportunity program, please call our
hotline at
	1-866-345-0931. If you do not receive an answer at that number,
please call
	my Metairie office's direct line at 504-589-2753.
	
	Sincerely,
	David Vitter
	U.S. Senator