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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today participated in the Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force meeting in Pensacola where he provided an overview of state and federal statutes relating to claims for those affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The Attorney General also discussed the state’s intention to begin collecting relevant supporting data and information that will allow the State of Florida and its agencies to periodically submit claims to BP for calculated losses caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“It is imperative for us to keep very careful accounting of what our claims to BP will be so we can aggressively pursue full recoveries,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Our state needs tremendous assistance, and we should be examining every single option available, whether it be new technology, more resources, or a better, more efficient claims process.”

At the task force meeting, the Attorney General also announced the Florida Crisis Response Team (FCRT) is on standby and is ready to be deployed to assist the affected communities as the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster continues to impact residents, businesses and others in Northwest Florida. The FCRT is comprised of more than 800 crisis responders statewide and provides assistance to community leaders in response to a disaster, provide crisis intervention training to local caregivers, and provide group crisis intervention sessions for other personnel involved in disaster response. The FCRT may either be activated by the state or at the request of an individual community.

After the task force meeting, the Attorney General hosted a review of new technologies that would potentially help mitigate the flow of oil coming onshore and clean it up once it arrives. At the Attorney General’s invitation, C.W. Roberts Contracting, Inc. demonstrated technology that would assist in cleaning the oil from water, thus preventing it from reaching the shores. The company offered three solutions that would effectively and efficiently aid in clean-up efforts, the first being a carpet fiber mat that acts as a smart sponge, soaking up oil but not water. The second solution is an oil absorbent mat that sits on the surface of the water and absorbs oil, and the third solution is to spread bales of hay throughout the affected Gulf area which would also absorb the spill.

Attorney General McCollum reiterated his requests urging BP and the federal authorities to adopt new strategies to cap the spill and clean it up. The Attorney General plans to hold a larger technology forum to showcase additional technologies available to assist in the oil spill response efforts later in July.