Deepwater Horizon Response Transitions to National Response Center Reporting

Deepwater Horizon Response Transitions to National Response Center Reporting

(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced today that the Gulf Coast Incident Management Team and the U.S. Coast Guard are transitioning the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response back to the pre-spill National Response Center system.

“While the Coast Guard and the Gulf States have decided that it’s time to move toward scaling back the response there will continue to be response efforts and clean up for oil that is found.  In addition, if oil is found to be MC252 oil, BP will be held accountable for the cleanup.  I am extremely proud of the commitment MDEQ staff has shown and the long hours dedicated to protecting our natural resources for more than three years.  We’re not going away, but we’re moving into other phases,” said Trudy Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.

Fisher also outlined MDEQ’s continuing role in oil spill response:

●MDEQ receives and participates in National Response Center reports and dispatches staff along with the Coast Guard as appropriate.
●MDEQ staff will continue to conduct periodic inspections of shoreline segments for any presence or accumulation of oil or tar balls through the summer beach season.
●MDEQ is prepared to inspect shoreline segments and respond to other conditions after landfall in the event of a hurricane.

Mississippians are encouraged to contact the National Response Center by calling 1-800-424-8802 or accessing www.nrc.uscg.mil if any oil-related material is sighted or a spill of any kind.

The National Response Center is the sole national point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological and etiological discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories. The reported information is passed to a local Coast Guardsman who investigates the report and takes appropriate action.

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