Washington vows no slack-off in Gulf oil cleanup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gulf Coast beaches and fisheries are reopening after the BP oil spill as optimism grows for a final kill of the blown-out well this month, the top U.S. spill response official said on Sunday.

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told CNN's "State of the Union" that President Barack Obama's administration would keep "a steady hand on the tiller" to clean up the world's worst offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The spill poses a continuing, long-term threat to affected communities, he said.

"This has been the largest environmental response in the history of this nation and it will continue until it's done," Allen said later on CBS' "Face the Nation".

Gulf Coast residents and business owners from Louisiana to Florida have reacted with alarm to a report by government scientists asserting that around 75 percent of the spilled oil had either evaporated, dispersed or otherwise been contained.

They say they fear government and media attention will fade and they will be abandoned as they struggle to cope with incomes and livelihoods devastated by the pollution disaster.

Appearing on the Sunday TV news shows, Allen sought to allay these fears, saying the operation to clean up the contamination and tackle the environmental and economic damage "requires our attention until we get the job done".

"There's a lot of oil that's still out there, there's a lot of shoreline that needs to be cleaned," he said.

"If you're sitting in Barataria Bay, it's still an environmental disaster, and if the folks haven't come back to the Panhandle of Florida, it's still a disaster," Allen said, referring to the impact of the spill on Louisiana marshes and fishing grounds and on visitors to Florida beaches.

But he added: "Some beaches are reopening, fisheries are reopening."

"There is basis for optimism going forward," Allen added, saying a BP relief well was on track to intersect the ruptured Macondo deepwater well later this week to permanently seal it from the bottom with an injection of mud and cement.

SAFETY ISSUES REPORT

Allen said that while he would give "fairly good marks" to BP for their technological response in finally capping the blown-out well in challenging deep water conditions, he faulted their ability to respond to the individual needs and grievances of affected Gulf Coast residents.

"That's the lens by which the American people view them and that's where they need to improve the most," he said.

Separately, the Sunday Times in London reported, citing an internal BP audit, that the drilling rig at the center of the Gulf spill had a history of overdue maintenance tasks and a poor safety culture.

BP, whose image and shares have taken a beating from the spill disaster, has lost over a third of its market value since the April 20 blast that killed 11 workers, sank the Deepwater Horizon rig and triggered the spill.

The catastrophe cost the job of BP CEO Tony Hayward, who was criticized for his apparent insensitivity.

The so-called "bottom kill" of the well later in August will complete last week's "static kill" operation on the wellhead a mile below the surface. The company says the cement seal on the top of the well is holding so far.

Although the leak was provisionally capped on July 15, the relief well is regarded as the final solution to plug the reservoir 13,000 feet beneath the seabed.

Obama's administration has faced criticism over its handling of the offshore oil accident. It has sent successive delegations of senior officials to tour oil-hit communities.

BP has already agreed to a $20 billion escrow fund to guarantee coverage of economic damage claims. It has also said it would sell about $30 billion in assets to address costs related to the spill.

In town hall meetings on Saturday in Mississippi, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus assured Gulf Coast residents that the administration saw the restoration of the Gulf Coast after the oil spill as a national priority.

Mabus said Obama should not be blamed.

"This is not just a Gulf problem. This is a nationwide problem," said Mabus, who is tasked with developing a long-term plan for the restoration of the oil-hit Gulf states and said he would be submitting a report to the president in a few weeks.

Allen told CNN authorities would draw up a Natural Resources Damage Assessment which would quantify in detail what damage was inflicted by the spill to ecologically sensitive marshes, tourism beaches and seafood stocks,

(Additional reporting by Tom Bergin in London, Pascal Fletcher in Miami and Leigh Coleman in Mississippi; writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Sandra Maler)

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