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

[Westley Annis]

Are we to assume Jack and friends got their rent and gas money since
the places are still open?

.

> -----------------------------------------------------

> 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."

>