[StBernard] ST. BERNARD PRESIDENT CRAIG TAFFARO TESTIFIED JUNE 2 ON CAPITOL HILL ABOUT THE BP OIL SPILL - LINK TO TESTIMONY INCLUDED

[Westley Annis]

ST. BERNARD PARISH PRESIDENT CRAIG TAFFARO TESTIFIED THURSDAY, JUNE 2 ON
CAPITOL HILL ABOUT THE BP OIL SPILL

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr., who set up the St.
Bernard Parish Incident Command Post in response to the BP Oil Spill,
testified at the House Oversight and Government Reform committee Thursday,
June 2, on the effort to clean up the Gulf of Mexico following the BP oil
spill.

 

President Taffaro was invited to speak at the hearing, "Making the Gulf
Whole Again: Assessing the Recovery Efforts of BP and the Obama
Administration After the Oil Spill," by Committee Chairman Darrell Issa.

 

As a Certified Incident Commander to the Unified Hopedale Branch, President
Taffaro supervised the operations in 10 divisions with over 2,500 first
responders in over 650 vessels that deployed over 600,000 linear feet of
boom to protect over 2,000 square miles of sensitive marsh land.  President
Taffaro utilized the largest and most effectively employed network of more
than 1,300 commercial fishermen to form a well-trained fleet of certified
oil spill responders. Additionally, he was a strong voice among regional
leaders addressing the BP oil spill in efforts to protect and to restore
critical fisheries and marshlands and get appropriate funding and support
from BP and the government.

 

In his hearing preview statement, Chairman Issa said Thursday's hearing of
the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform would "focus on the
economic hardships and other issues still facing the Gulf Coast community
one year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. By examining the disaster
response of both BP and the Obama administration, the committee will seek to
understand the root causes of the slow pace of recovery and consider what is
needed to help affected residents and industries going forward."

 

President Taffaro said he was pleased to share his insights with the panel.

 

"I applaud the Oversight Committee for continuing to keep the matter at the
highest level of government attention," President Taffaro said. "As we have
crossed over the one-year anniversary since the oil spill, the focus must
remain on resolving the adverse impacts to our fishermen, our ecosystem and
our coast line. I look forward to a bi-partisan effort to resolve these
matters."

 

Others who testified before the committee included: Director Michael
Bromwich of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and
Enforcement in the U.S. Department of Interior, Mississippi Gov. Haley
Barbour, Bill Williams, Commissioner of Gulf County, Florida; Frank Rusco,
Director of Energy and Science Issues Government Accountability Office; and
Cory Kief, President of Offshore Towing, Inc. of Larose.

 

The prepared statements and expanded testimony of all those who testified
may be viewed at this link:
http://oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1314
%3A6-2-11-qmaking-the-gulf-coast-whole-again-assessing-the-recovery-efforts-
of-bp-and-the-obama-administration-after-the-oil-spillq&catid=12&Itemid=20
<http://oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131
4%3A6-2-11-qmaking-the-gulf-coast-whole-again-assessing-the-recovery-efforts
-of-bp-and-the-obama-administration-after-the-oil-spillq&catid=12&Itemid=20>
. 

 

 

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