OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will show off the latest work being done to assess the damage along the Gulf Coast from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
DEQ officials will hold a news conference Thursday at Fort Maurepas Park in Ocean Springs to provide information on Mississippi’s participation in the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process.
DEQ will take reporters aboard one of the state’s oil response vessels to see the sampling work being done along the coast.
“The Natural Restoration Damage Assessment is a legal process authorized by the Oil Pollution Act that determines the type and amount of restoration needed for compensating the public following an oil spill,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy D. Fisher.
“For full restoration to take place, it is important that citizens are aware of and have the opportunity to participate in this process. We hope the media will partner with us in making this information available to all as we move forward,” Fisher added.
Under authority of the Oil Pollution Act, Governor Haley Barbour appointed Fisher as Trustee and MDEQ as the lead agency for protecting and restoring the state’s coastal and marine natural resources. As Trustee, Fisher and MDEQ are working to ensure the state is fully compensated by those responsible for the oil spill and that restoration of natural resources is completed.
