Deepwater BP Oil Spill

Information on Spill-Related Damages and Claims

Individuals and businesses that have incurred damages as a result of the oil spill may submit a claim to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) for removal and cleanup costs, damage to real or personal property, lost earnings or profits, loss of subsistence use of natural resources, or physical injury or death.  Claims can be submitted at www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com, or by calling (800) 916-4893 (toll free); (800) 916-4893 (multilingual); or (866) 682-1758 (TTY).

If, after 90 days, BP or the GCCF has not settled your claim (or any time after BP or the GCCF has denied your claim), you may present it to the National Pollution Fund Center.  Information on presenting a claim to the NPFC is available at 1-800-280-7118 and at http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/Claims/.

For more information on assistance for small business owners and others in affected areas, visit RestoreTheGulf.gov.

What You Can Do

• Request volunteer information and register to volunteer: (866)-448-5816
• Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system or submit alternative response technology, services or products:
  (281) 366-5511
• Report oiled or injured wildlife: 1-866-557-1401
• Report oil on land: 1-866-448-5816

State specific volunteer opportunities:

• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Florida
• Alabama

Federal Response Resources

Check out the links below to find out how federal departments and agencies are responding to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill:

RestoreTheGulf.gov
RestoretheGulf.gov is the official federal portal for the Deepwater BP oil spill response and recovery. This site provides the public with information on the response, current operations, news and updates, how to file a claim and obtain other assistance, and links to federal, state and local partners: http://www.restorethegulf.gov

• Facebook
• Flickr
• Twitter
• YouTube

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Since the moments after the oil rig explosion on the night of April 20, DHS has played a lead role in federal response efforts—deploying the U.S. Coast Guard to search and rescue the 126 people aboard the rig, and quickly leading efforts to establish a command center on the Gulf Coast to address the potential environmental impact of the event and to coordinate with all state and local governments. Secretary Napolitano leads the National Response Team, an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution events.

U.S. Coast Guard
The Coast Guard has played a major role from the very beginning, when it responded to the explosion on a search and rescue mission to save lives. Pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, Rear Admiral Mary Landry was named the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to lead a Regional Response Team which was stood up that included DHS, DOC/NOAA, DOI and the EPA, as well as state and local representatives. As the event escalated, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was announced as the National Incident Commander for the administration’s continued, coordinated response—providing additional coordinated oversight in leveraging every available resource to respond to the oil spill and minimize the associated environmental risks.

Department of the Interior (DOI)
The morning after the explosion, Secretary of the Interior deployed Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes to the Gulf Coast to assist with coordination and response to the event, and provide hourly reports back to the administration. Since then, DOI has played a vital role in overseeing BP’s response efforts while—at the President’s request—working to deliver a report with recommendations on what, if any, additional safety measures should be required for offshore operations. Secretary Salazar has announced that inspections of all deepwater rigs and platforms are underway.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Since the Deepwater BP Oil Spill, EPA has provided full support to the U.S. Coast Guard and is monitoring and responding to potential public health and environmental concerns. Environmental data, including air quality and water samples, will be posted and frequently updated on this site as it is collected and validated by EPA’s response teams along the impacted coastlines. This data is meant to determine potential risks to public health and the environment: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
Weather Forecast: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/

Small Business Administration
SBA is making low-interest loans available to small businesses in the Gulf Coast regions of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi suffering financial losses following the April 20 Deepwater BP oil spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are available immediately in designated counties and parishes of each of the four states to help meet the financial needs of qualifying small businesses following the oil spill: http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/

Department of Defense (DOD)
DOD continues to support the ongoing response effort by lending Naval and Air Force bases to provide vital staging areas for boom deployments and other activities, and providing C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Aerial Spray Systems, which dispense chemical dispersant—capable of covering up to 250 acres per flight. DOD also plays a significant role in the National Response Team, helping to lead the coordination of response actions for the federal government. Secretary of Defense Gates has authorized use of Title 32 status for up to 17,500 National Guard members in four states: Alabama (3,000), Florida (2,500), Louisiana (6,000) and Mississippi (6,000).

Department of Labor
A number of agencies within the Department of Labor are working every day for the health, safety, and well-being of those involved in the oil spill response and cleanup operations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is evaluating the safety at worksites around the Gulf, covering the vessels of opportunity, beach cleanup, staging areas, decontamination, distribution and deployment sites. Worker exposure data and requirements for training and personal protective equipment are posted on OSHA’s website. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) supports a number of One Stop Career Centers in the area, and is helping to facilitate retraining and re-employment assistance to help workers who have been displaced find new work opportunities. In addition, DOL is providing resources to area workers regarding wage laws and federal contract compliance: http://www.dol.gov/dol/gulf.htm

Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service
The Fish and Wildlife Service continues to support the joint agency response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with experienced specialists, land managers, and support personnel. Booms to capture and deflect anticipated oil are being deployed at Breton National Wildlife Refuge, where thousands of brown pelicans and shorebirds are currently nesting. The Service also is initiating Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration activities in this incident to assess and address the long-term damage to impacted resources: http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill

Department of the Interior’s National Park Service
The National Park Service is focused on human safety and resource protection in eight national parks in the Gulf area. These parks are working to assess resources, collect baseline data, coordinate boom placements, plan for responsible cleanup, install barriers for shore bird and turtle nest protection, and plan for potential park closures, if necessary: http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Oil spill response workers may be exposed to many different chemical, physical, biological, and psychological hazards. These hazards vary depending on the type and location of the oil spill, type and stage of response, degree of coordination between entities involved in response and recovery, and the workers’ specific tasks. Therefore, occupational and environmental hazards need to be identified, assessed, and monitored in each oil spill response: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse

Daily Updates

The latest in the Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill including additional resources and the response by the numbers is available here.

Information on Air, Food, and Water Safety

Air: EPA continues air monitoring effort to ensure the safety of local residents and track any developing air quality changes.

Food: Consumers need to know that seafood from the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico is safe and fishermen need to be able to sell their products with confidence. That’s why there’s an aggressive, comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency program to ensure the safety of Gulf seafood – working across federal agencies and with state and local officials, and the seafood industry, to closely monitor the effects of the oil spill and its potential impact on seafood safety. This includes rigorous testing and protocols throughout the process of bringing safe Gulf seafood to market – from active monitoring of the Gulf fisheries where seafood is caught to the inspection of companies that catch and sell Gulf seafood to the frequent testing of seafood caught in the Gulf to ensure that all seafood that goes to market is safe.

Water: With the ongoing reopening of Gulf fisheries, fishermen are going back to work and Americans can confidently and safely enjoy Gulf seafood again.