Deepwater Horizon Spill moving out to sea; agencies begin assessing wildlife impact; worries over oil in Florida Keys

According to NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, Rear Admiral Landry helped share the news about the successful riser insertion over the weekend that BP is saying is catching some oil and gas from the riser. Landry also said it was going to be a good week for continuing to fight the oil spill at sea. The weather is good for controlled burns, dispersants at the surface and subsea and the Mississippi River is high and pushing the oil back out into the Gulf.

A meeting was held with federal wildlife experts to discuss the latest numbers of wildlife that may have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the potential for broader ecosystem impacts, as well as the ongoing response efforts to protect the Gulf of Mexico’s national wildlife refuges, national parks and species.See http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/550739/ for more information and a link to an audio recording of the call.


Meanwhile, tar balls are showing up in the Florida Keys and causing concern that the Deepwater Horizon spill is already having far-reaching effects. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6430AR20100518 Some estimates are that the spill has been leaking 4 million gallons per day for the past three weeks.