[StBernard] Oil Response Training Now Available to St. Bernard Residents -- Call Center established to answer affected residents' questions

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed May 12 21:43:13 EDT 2010


Oil Response Training Now Available to St. Bernard Residents

Call Center established to answer affected residents' questions



St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. said local crews
continued boom repair work and 6,000 feet of hard boom was deployed today in
the parish's efforts to protect its coastline and marshes. Boats worked out
of three Command Centers in St. Bernard: Breton Sound, Shell Beach and
Hopedale.



Additionally, St. Bernard Parish with support from British Petroleum has
established an Oil Spill Call Center to answer questions from residents
affected by the oil spill. The Call Center will be staffed Mondays through
Fridays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it will be staffed on Saturdays from 8
a.m. to 1 p.m. The local number that residents should call is 504-277-4911.
A toll-free number for those who may be out of town is 1-877-902-4911.



The surface area of the main mass of oil seems to have expanded. Aerial
dispersant and deep water skimming continued today in the area. Weather
conditions didn't permit oil burning.



Ground crews on the north end of the Chandeleur Islands confirmed what was
thought to be oil as an algae bloom. What is believed to be oil emulsion was
found on the south end of the Chandeleur Islands. Water testing is being
conducted to confirm this and ground crews are conducting cleanup as needed.
There are no other confirmed impacts of oil in St. Bernard Parish.



FOR ST. BERNARD PARISH RESIDENTS ONLY: Oil Spill Response training is now
available to St. Bernard Parish residents ONLY. It is also still available
to those fishermen enrolled in the Vessels of Opportunity Program who have
not finished the training. The fishermen will have a priority in seating for
these classes. The training is taking place in the Frederick J. Sigur Civic
Center Grand Ballroom at 8245 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. There is
limited seating for each class (200), and arrivals to the classes will be
accommodated on a first come first serve basis. The schedule for classes
this week is as follows:



* Wednesday, May 12: 7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
* Thursday, May 13: 7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
* Friday, May 14: There will only be a 7:30 p.m. class



All registered fishermen have been designated into teams and put to work in
their assigned rotations. Due to numerous issues regarding the fishermen
chosen to work as part of the Vessels of Opportunity Program, the next
rotation of fishermen will need to produce documentation indicating their
main source of income is derived from commercial fishing.



All fishermen in the next rotation will need to provide one of the
following: 1) A commercial fishing license and boat registration, or 2) An
occupational license as a dock operator or seafood distributor or, 3) A
certified letter from a captain or boat owner designating you as his/her
deckhand. To become hired by St. Bernard Parish in this effort, fishermen
must also be able to prove they are a St. Bernard Parish resident. There
will be no exceptions. Fishermen can sign up to be hired by calling the St.
Bernard Parish EOC at (504) 278-4268. All volunteering fishermen must
include the Vessel Name, Owner/Captain Name, Contact phone, email and
address, Vessel Length, Horsepower and Draft.



Access has been restricted at all three Command Centers. Fishermen are asked
to not report to the launch points without proper authorization. Because St.
Bernard commercial fishermen have been financially impacted by the spill,
St. Bernard is focusing on linking the fishermen with BP's Vessel of
Opportunity program so they will be compensated for their efforts.



Press who want to access to any Command Center should call ahead and receive
prior approval from Jennifer Belsom. Belsom can be reached at 504-444-6249
or jbelsom at sbpg.net <mailto:jbelsom at sbpg.net> .



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