[StBernard] National Incident Commander visits St. Bernard Parish Oil Spill Branch

[Westley Annis]

National Incident Commander visits St. Bernard Parish Oil Spill Branch

The St. Bernard Parish Oil Spill Branch received a visit from National
Incident Commander, Admiral Thad Allen and Federal On-Scene Coordinator,
Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft on Monday. On his first visit to the Branch, Allen
met with the Unified Command and General Staff as well as the Branch Section
Chiefs. He took questions and asked for any concerns anyone may have and
briefed the Branch on plans moving forward. Allen stated that Navy Secretary
Mabus's report, a Gulf Coast restoration plan that will lay out the
long-term environmental challenges facing the region and how to address
them, is anticipated to be released in the next week or so. Following this,
a Transition Task Force chairman will be named and Admiral Zukunft will take
on responsibilities as the operational commander for activities by October
1st. 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro brought up concerns regarding
land loss in the marsh that has occurred as a result of oiling in these
areas. "We're trying to close the gap between restoration and NRDA," Taffaro
said. "We have land loss that has occurred and it isn't being documented in
such a way that NRDA will be able to address it. It is a real problem in our
area." Through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process (NRDA),
agencies conduct studies to identify the extent of resource injuries, the
best methods for restoring those resources and the type and amount of
restoration required. The NRDA process is started following the completion
of response and cleanup activities. The problem Taffaro says, occurs when
marsh grass is oiled and starts to erode and fall off. By the time someone
from a Shoreline Clean-Up and Assessment team gets to it to assess damage,
it is underwater. Therefore, there is no way to identify impact for NRDA to
address. Admiral Allen addressed this issue, stating that the Environmental
Unit in Houma and the environmental staff at the St. Bernard Branch will
work closely together to help come up with a solution for this issue. 

 

After meeting with Branch Unified Command and staff, Allen and Zukunft
toured the Command Center in Hopedale and base operations. They stopped for
lunch in the communal mess hall, sampling locally harvested seafood
including fresh boiled Gulf shrimp and shrimp pasta. Allen lent an ear to
the local responders, and gave them some parting words before he concluded
his visit at the base. "I want to thank everybody for what they're doing
down here," Allen said. "These are stressful operations, especially when
it's happening in your own back yard and you're not doing what you would
normally be doing this time of year out on the water. We want to make sure
we are safe and looking out for each other."

Allen also spoke about his confidence in the safety of the seafood caught in
this region. "Every time I come down here I eat seafood. The seafood coming
out of the Gulf is the safest seafood in the world."

"We're going keep looking for oil," Allen assured the fishermen. "I'll be
getting with Jane Lubchenco (head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) tomorrow regarding the subsurface monitoring program. We
have the snare boom out there and we are looking for it. Moving forward, we
want to make sure we know where the oil is, how much is there, what the fate
of the oil is and what is the long-term damage that has been done to the
local area so that it can be made whole."