Local, state and federal officials are working together on contingency plans in the event the oil spill currently threatening the state of Louisiana drifts toward Texas.

President Barack Obama conducted a conference call with local leaders, including Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough and Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, Monday afternoon to discuss the growing federal response to the spill from the collapsed drilling rig Deepwater Horizon off the coast of Louisiana. Judge Yarbrough and Mayor Thomas said the president emphasized the need for local coordination and involvement in the cleanup as well as in the preparation of contingency plans necessary to protect the Texas coastline.

State officials have dispatched an incident management team to Louisiana to monitor the cleanup and to advise state and local officials at the scene as well as those in Texas. Additionally, partnering state agencies are using computer models to gauge the oil spill’s potential impact to the Southeast Texas Coast so that resources can be pre-positioned to ensure a rapid response, should the oil threaten our coastline.

To date, more than 1,600 personnel have been deployed to assist with the cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. More than 240,000 feet of containment boom has been placed, and more than 150,000 gallons of oil dispersant has been applied. A large contingent of barges, skimmers and other oil spill response vessels have been deployed, all working under the command of the U.S. Coast Guard with assistance from other federal and state officials as well as industry.

Local and state officials will continue to monitor the spill very closely to ensure contingency plans are implemented as needed.

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