BP Complaints

GONZALES, La. – Approximately 300,000 feet of ready-to-deploy, containment boom is stored at the Lamar-Dixon staging area for the Deepwater Horizon Response, Aug. 29, 2010. The staging area was selected as a distribution point because it is located safely above the flood plane. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew S. Masaschi.

GONZALES, La. – Approximately 1 million feet of ready-to-deploy, sorbent boom is stored at the Lamar-Dixon staging area, Aug. 29, 2010. The staging area was selected as a distribution point because it is located safely above the flood plane. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew S. Masaschi.

GONZALES, La. – Approximately 1 million feet of ready-to-deploy, sorbent boom is stored at the Lamar-Dixon staging area in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill, Aug. 29, 2010. The facility is a central distribution center to many of the forward operating bases within the Gulf region. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew S. Masaschi.

WHAT:  Credentialed media are invited to tour the facility and view boom decontamination and recycling at the Theodore, Alabama facility.  A pilot test of technology to support recycling of soft, sorbent boom will also be part of the tour.   Because virtually no visible oil has been spotted on the surface of the Gulf in these areas recently, and in order to protect shorelines from damage caused by boom in potential severe weather, the Incident Command Post at Mobile (ICP Mobile) announced that more than 1.2 million feet of hard boom has been recovered from those state waters. 

WHERE:  Theodore Decon Center, 2789 Claudia Lane, Theodore, AL 36582

WHEN:  Friday, August 20, 2010 at 9 a.m. CDT (Tour will last 1 hour)

WHY:  Decontamination of boom is a critical component of the oil spill response. Boom removed from water is cleaned, repaired, inspected and certified before being redeployed or stored. For boom that is damaged beyond repair, this facility separates the components of boom for recycling and reuse in other applications.      

Boom removal is also an important step in protecting vital coastal areas, ensuring that during extreme weather boom is not dragged into sensitive wetlands or other fragile areas. Responders remain vigilant and ready to deploy boom should it be needed to protect the coast from any new threats from oil that may emerge in the coming days and weeks.

WHO:  Walter Dorn, Director of Emergency Services, Patriot Environmental Services, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1^st Class Judy Silverstein

CONTACT:  Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at ICP Mobile:  251-445-8965 

REQUIREMENTS: For safety reasons, participants in this event must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.  

For more on the response effort, visit:  www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or www.restorethegulf.gov