The FINANCIAL — The U.S. Coast Guard ended patrols and operations on the final three shoreline miles in Louisiana, bringing to a close the extensive four-year active cleanup of the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon accident. These operations ended in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi in June 2013, according to BP p.l.c.
“Reaching this milestone is the result of the extraordinary efforts of thousands of people from BP, local communities, government agencies, and academic institutions working together,” said John Mingé, Chairman and President of BP America. “Immediately following the Deepwater Horizon accident, BP committed to cleaning the shoreline and supporting the Gulf’s economic and environmental recovery. Completing active cleanup is further indication that we are keeping that commitment,” he added.
The large-scale cleanup effort, combined with early restoration projects and natural recovery processes, is helping the Gulf return to its baseline condition, which is the condition it would be in if the accident had not occurred. Although active cleanup has ended, the entire area of response is subject to the National Response Center (NRC) process. Coast Guard personnel are pre-positioned to investigate any further reports of oil-based material, according to BP p.l.c.
“BP has spent more than $14 billion and more than 70 million personnel hours on response and cleanup activities,” said Laura Folse, BP’s executive vice president for Response and Environmental Restoration. “Even though active cleanup has ended, we will keep resources in place to respond quickly at the Coast Guard’s direction if potential Macondo oil is identified and requires removal,” she added.
From the beginning, BP worked under the Coast Guard’s direction and in cooperation with state agencies and local governments to limit the accident’s impact on the environment, and remove oil from the water and shoreline. Aerial reconnaissance flights were flown across approximately 14,000 miles of shoreline. Nearly 4,400 miles were ground-surveyed, with teams identifying 1,104 miles that experienced some level of oiling and 778 miles that required some measure of cleaning, according to BP p.l.c.
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