BP completes “static kill,” begins “bottom kill.”
Gulf residents remain skeptical about BP’s long-term commitment.
After extensive weekend testing, BP and government officials reported Monday that the mud and concrete poured into the top of Deepwater Horizon have effectively sealed the top of the well. Further testing confirms that the two relief wells are on target to join the main borehole sometime on Wednesday, and engineers then will begin the final phase of capping and sealing the pipe that disgorged millions of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Late Monday, Thad Allen, leader of the government’s containment initiatives, told cable news outlets and the wire services that the closer of two relief wells is 17,909 feet deep and less than 100 feet from intercepting the main well. Allen reported that, Saturday and Sunday crews twice had drilled thirty feet at a time before backing out to test the accuracy of their work. Allen, “cautiously optimistic” as always, predicted that the first relief well would intersect the main shaft late Tuesday or early Wednesday, when “bottom kill” procedures will begin. He further predicted that the entire operation may be complete by the weekend.
Allen assesses BP performance.
Speaking with Candy Crowley on CNN’s Sunday morning “State of the Union,” retired Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen, the government’s go-to guy on the spill, gave BP “very good grades” on their performance at the well-head. Allen stressed that engineers and technicians were adapting and inventing new technologies as the disaster developed, and they had managed the mechanical problems probably better than any other company in the industry could have done it. Grading BP’s response to customers’ and citizens’ claims, Allen conceded that “point of sale contact is not really in BP’s toolkit, not a part of the company’s repertoire,” and he awarded a poor grade, emphasizing, “Sadly, this is how the public judges BP.”
Officials and residents remain cautious, bitter, embattled.
All across the Gulf coast, residents and businessmen began to feel some relief, seeing the end in sight. But immediate concern about the spill’s toxic effects gave way to deeper worry about BP’s commitment to full recovery from the nation’s worst environmental disaster. “The BP boys have said all the right things from the very beginning,” said Savannah Mitchell, wife of a Gulf coast shrimper, “but it always has turned-out to be nothing but pretty words. Not once has BP proven trustworthy. Only when the press and the government get hold of BP’s latest nastiness do they step up and do the right thing. Why should we start trusting them now when they have every reason just to pack up their tools and crawl back under their rock?””
Across the region, officials continue assessing lingering effects of the spill. Scientists estimate that about 80% of the oil has dispersed, been skimmed away, or evaporated, and officials say very little oil remains on the beaches. In some areas, tourist traffic has returned nearly to normal as word gets out that the beaches and water are clean. Louisiana remains most seriously affected by the spill. Many of the state’s most precious marshlands still are mired in tar.
Officials, fishermen, and restaurateurs assure seafood safety.
The government has reopened the majority of prime fishing grounds, and the seafood industry is grinding back into production. As a show of support for Gulf fishermen, President Obama served Gulf seafood at his weekend barbeque; and a major culinary exposition in New Orleans showcased fresh-caught Gulf delicacies. Many participants in NOLA’s weekend cook-a-thon expressed the same sentiment in exactly the same sentence: “No seafood on Earth is so thoroughly tested as the seafood from the Gulf, and none is as clean and safe.”
