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American Morning

It's Official: Gulf Spill the Worst in U.S. History; Obama Visits Gulf Today; Grand Isle Mayor, Jefferson Parish Homeland Director Call for Action: "This is a War"; Long-Term Environmental Damage From Gulf Oil Leak Unknown

Aired May 28, 2010 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we're watching the live pictures underwater of crude oil - actually, mostly drilling mud gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. There might be a little bit of oil and gas mixed in there.

The top kill effort to cut off the oil flow is back in action, 39 days now, more than five weeks, as we continue to monitor efforts to kill that well and permanently stop the flow of oil from coming out.

Good morning. It's Friday. It's the 28th of May, special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts in New York.

Good morning, Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, John. You know, it's interesting, we just showed that shot.

I'm here in Grand Isle, Louisiana, by the way which - which is what is supposed to be the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Huge tourism time, huge time for fishing, for boating, and this island really is a ghost town. The beaches are empty, they're closed and there's still a lot of confusion about just how everything is going to turn out here.

Meanwhile, one thing that everyone here knows is that they're witnessing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. And this afternoon, the president will also witness it firsthand when he comes to tiny Grand Isle to take a tour of the devastation.

Let's take a look now again one mile down, that live picture of BP's ruptured Gulf well at the bottom of the Gulf. And we had a chance to speak with Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, in our last hour. He said that right now, the majority of what's coming out is drilling mud that oil and gas are -- the spewing of oil and gas has been minimized by this operation but it is still by no means a success. They are still waiting to see whether or not this top kill effort has worked.

And meanwhile, it has devastated the wetlands here, the plant, the birds, the fish, all dying, along with a lot of hopes and dreams and a way of life. The last right now is that BP CEO, in a live interview in the last hour, acknowledged what most of us already knew, calling the spill in the Gulf an environmental catastrophe. BP's top kill resumed after an unannounced 16-hour delay yesterday. And again, it could be 48 hours before we know whether all that heavy mud that they are pumping has actually sealed off the leak that can then be capped permanently with cement.

So, it's five hours and counting before President Obama arrives here on these shores. Yesterday, he said he takes responsibility and would own this disaster. Today, he's going to get a chance to see it up close and personal.

And David Mattingly is monitoring the top kill operation for us, as he has been. He's live in New Orleans this morning.

It's interesting when we heard from Tony Hayward -- he said that right now, it's mostly the drilling mud that's coming out. That, meanwhile, even if it were to stop today, scientists now estimate this to be twice the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Any sense of how this operation is progressing?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By going -- going by what BP is telling us, they are saying everything is going according to plan, but every step forward they take and the path they said has been into uncharted waters. They are learning as they go. They are starting the pumping. They are stopping the pumping.

They are -- it is not a continuous type of progress that they are doing here. It's a lot of stops, starts, stepping back, re- evaluating. The plan continues to be the same. And that is to overcome this well by essentially drowning it in this heavy liquid, pumping so much of that mud in there under so much pressure that they force the oil back down into the well and then they are able to seal it off with cement. And what they've been telling us is that every step forward they take is being met with some positive results.

But at this point, Kiran, they are still not able to say if this is definitely going to work. Tony Hayward now is telling us, we are looking at a timetable of about 48 hours before we know if the top kill will kill this well.

CHETRY: And then, if it doesn't work, what is the next attempt? What are -- what is the process? And what are they going to try if this doesn't end up sealing the well?

MATTINGLY: The next attempt, what they're trying to do now is kill the well. The next attempt will be to try to contain the well. They have a plan.

At the point where we are watching that cloud of material, the mud, the oil, the gas now escaping from that pipe -- they're going to saw that pipe off, cut it off and put a containment vessel on there -- sort of a modified type of containment dome that they have developed in the past. That will collect the oil and send it to a ship up on top. The idea is not to shut it off but rather to contain it if this top kill doesn't work.

CHETRY: David Mattingly for us this morning in New Orleans, monitoring the latest on this. Hopefully, we'll know something w something by the weekend. Thanks so much, David.

And, John, also, of course, while all of that is going on, they are still drilling those two relief wells. But as we know, that's a process that could take months. And that's the last resort if none of these other measures actually cap or stop the leak.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Last resort, but that does tend to be the resort that actually has a really good chance of killing wells, as we've, you know, seen before. There was a runaway well in 1979 on the Mexico side of the Gulf of Mexico, raged on for 10 months before they finally killed it with the relief well.

Earlier, on AMERICAN MORNING, we spoke to the man in charge of BP, Tony Hayward. Eleven days ago, he said, the environmental impact of this spill would be, quote, very, very modest. Today, we asked him if he's changed his mind about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Now that's been found by government scientists that the amount of oil coming out of that blowout preventer is perhaps five times what it was initially thought, it may be 19,000 barrels a day, not 5,000 barrels a day. If I were to ask you what you thought the environmental impact of this spill is going to be, what would you say? What would your assessment be now?

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: This is -- this is clearly an environmental catastrophe. There's no two ways about it. And all I would say is that in terms of the estimate, the initial rate was a government estimate. These rates are a government assessment.

ROBERTS: But you're upping your assessment now to environmental catastrophe?

HAYWARD: It's clear. I mean, it is clear that we are dealing with a very significant environmental crisis and catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: He would also say his company has tried to be clear, open and transparent from the very beginning of this disaster, about everything that's going on, including the potential damage of it. But even the president has questioned that, saying that he wants to make sure that everything that BP says about this is verified.

And after weeks of the White House saying that BP is in charge, President Obama came out and told reporters that the buck now stops with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My job is to get this fixed. And in case anybody wonders -- in any of your reporting, in case you are wondering who's responsible, I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure that everything is done to shut this down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: He'll leave for the Gulf Coast in about an hour in an attempt to cap the political fallout from this disaster.

Our chief political correspondent and host of "STATE OF THE UNION," Candy Crowley, joins us now live from Washington.

And many people are wondering, Candy, is it too little, too late for the president or as James Carville told us yesterday if he goes down there with a command presence, that he could undo a lot of the negativity that's been pointing toward him over the last few days?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He certainly can help himself. The problem I think now is really is this has been going on for more than a month. People really are set in in their belief of how the government acted or did not act. It's going to take more than a visit down to the Gulf, particularly for the people who live there, who still haven't seen any compensation for the livelihood that they have lost over the past month, who still don't look out and still don't see any skimmer ships, that kind of thing.

It's just going to take more than a day, I think, for the president going down there. But it's a start. Yesterday was a start. The timeline -- many people now looking at that still don't believe he was in there powerfully enough or soon enough for the magnitude of what this was. But, clearly, the White House has gotten that message.

ROBERTS: How do you think he's going to be received on this visit?

CROWLEY: I think there will be a lot of questions. And clearly -- I mean, we've heard. We've been down there talking to all those people down there who are directly affected by this, their lives, their way of life, livelihood, all of that. And they are furious.

And they -- you know, we heard them saying, oh, if this were happening in the Chesapeake Bay, they'd be much quicker. I think they feel very much as though that they have been abandoned by the federal government. So, I think you will see some of the skepticism and some of the anger when the president goes down there.

ROBERTS: The head of MMS, the Minerals Management Service, Liz Birnbaum, is out. I mean, resigned, fired, however you want to put it. The president was suggesting that she resigned. But a lot of people think that she was fired.

Now that she's out, do you think that more heads are going to roll over this?

CROWLEY: Probably, it would be my -- it would be my guess, yes. I mean, let's see what happens down the line. Because what we're learning now is that every day, something different happens or something we didn't know about comes to light.

They have talked now and knew about for some time, certainly, the Obama administration felt that in some of the regulatory agencies, including MMS, people who give permits to these oil companies for the drilling, that they have been too cozy. They've known that for some time. They are now are sort of drilled in on it, if you will, and not, you know, sort of stretch the metaphor. But in essence, they almost have to. Having said, look, we know they're too cozy so we're going to divide this up.

I mean, it seems to me there have to be more people that end up retiring or leaving or being pushed out, or however you want to put it.

ROBERTS: I assume, Candy, that this will be a big topic of discussion coming up on "STATE OF THE UNION" on Sunday. Who have you got coming in?

CROWLEY: Yes. Well, we also -- we're going to take a look also where we are. Obviously, very close to Memorial Day, the day before. So, we'll be talking to the head of the Joint Chief of Staffs, Admiral Mullen.

We'll also be talking to James Webb. Virginia, as you know, is one of those places where the president was going to allow more deep water drilling. He'll be on also to talk a little bit about Memorial Day and the two wars going on.

And David Vitter, the senator from Louisiana, to give us an update of what's going on down there, what he thinks the government has done right and wrong.

So, that's the lineup.

ROBERTS: All right. We'll see you then. Candy Crowley, thanks so much.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

ROBERTS: Again, be sure to catch Candy Crowley on "STATE OF THE UNION," this and every Sunday morning, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Let's go back down to the Gulf Coast again and here's Kiran.

CHETRY: John, thanks.

This Memorial Day weekend, it should be packed with tourists. Instead, they are assessing the environmental catastrophe, the damage is mounting from the worst U.S. oil spill ever.

We're going to be joined by Jefferson Parish homeland security director, Deano Bonano. As well as David Camardelle, he is the mayor of Grand Isle. They had a chance to talk to federal and state officials.

So, what's the plan to make sure that this area survives? We'll talk about it -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: All right. Welcome back. Thirteen minutes past the hour right now.

A live look under water from the Gulf of Mexico, 50 miles out and a mile down -- that is a look right now at the whole entire top kill operation that is still under way. When we spoke to BP CEO earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, he said what you're mostly seeing now is the drilling mud coming out. They say that he believes that a lot of the oil and gases are actually not coming out right now. But, still, it could be 48 hours before there's any word on whether this is actually a success.

And, of course, the precious seconds are ticking away. The damage is mounting from the worst oil spill that this country has ever seen.

President Obama is going to be visiting the Louisiana shore today. And I'm joined now by two men who would certainly like to have a word or two with the president when he gets here. Deano Bonano is the director of homeland security for Jefferson Parish and David Camardelle is the mayor of Grand Isle.

Thanks for -- you guys have been through it all together too, as well -- Hurricane Katrina, Gustav, Ivan, Rita, and now this.

First of all, you had a chance yesterday along with me to go out with Governor Jindal up in the air and see what's going on. What is your assessment right now about what you guys need here in Grand Isle and also in these other coastal areas?

MAYOR DAVID CAMARDELLE, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA: Well, you know, after assessing with the governor, like you said, we have five main passes that we have to block, the sand berm at (INAUDIBLE), that area, it needs to be done. And you've seen in the islands where the dredge would probably change it, the force protecting Grand Isle and the estuaries, and even towards New Orleans, there are five passes that come along the coast.

We use the beach as a barrier. But the five passes need to be plugged up. And we got a plan that we want to show the president today. Hopefully, we will get to talk to him. That we could come in and we put a plan for Jefferson Parish and make sure that we can explain to the president what we want.

CHETRY: A couple of things that you have been talking about -- Deano, you said you have been screaming about it -- that they need to get the skimming operations going. We have talked to about three people now including the senior scientist that we just had from the National Wildlife Federation, Doug Inkley, who said they are not skimming. He is seeing oil half an inch thick, and the skimmers are not out there.

What is going on with that?

DEANO BONANO, HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR, JEFFERSON PARISH: I don't know. We went out yesterday, 30 miles offshore, it is the heaviest oil I have seen yesterday, just heavy, heavy oil with dead fish in it. Our approach has to stop being an oil spill cleanup. We need to treat it like a war. The Navy and the Coast Guard need to have a fleet of skimmers here. They have skimmers on Grand Isle, not enough; hire more skimmers, let us protect that coast.

The enemy is the oil. Let's put a fleet out there and every skimmer we can find and skim off as much as we can before it gets ashore, because here in Louisiana, our marshes are so fragile, once the oil gets there, the battle is over.

CHETRY: You are saying treat it like a war. Who needs to make this call?

CAMARDELLE: The president needs to make the call. There is no reason why we shouldn't have the Navy, every national service right here.

Look, you see a big boom right in the corner, coming in. The oil is 35 miles. Like Deano said, it is getting closer and closer. Let's protect it before it gets to the main lands. Because right now, I have oil in the back of my island and nobody is picking it up. Just like Billy screaming, just like we are screaming here. I mean, it is 35 miles away. The weather is beautiful. If a low pressure comes, it will destroy us all.

You know, I met with some fishermen this morning, you know, and just talking with them, they are still standing by the docks, the restaurant people, when you talk to Ria (ph) this morning, the Marinas are empty. There is no reason behind, there should be 10,000 people. I mean, there is no way we can make it.

Hopefully, we can talk to the president and just tell him, this is what we want. You are here on my island. We want to stop the oil from coming to the inside to the five passes.

CHETRY: It seems that -- OK, obviously, we need to, you know, the first thing that has to happen is this well has to be stopped or killed. That process is still taking place. But meanwhile, what are you hearing when you have talks with the federal government and the state level about why they are not getting more help out there and more equipment? As we understand it, there have been offers from 14 to 16 other countries to loan equipment, to lend equipment, to bring stuff out here.

BONANO: I don't know. It is just a slow process. Since last week and so much oil poured ashore here in Grand Isle, there were very little assets to deal with it, the federal government has been bringing more assets on board. A lot of those assets are still sitting on land as they try to get organized and try to get that effort going. They need to have a sense of urgency.

I know the president said yesterday, he is trying to have a sense of urgency. The urgency needs to be today, now. Any offer should be accepted. If somebody calls and says, I have a skimming boat, don't say, let me look at it, or let me see what you got, just send it. Send it here, we'll put it to use. I don't care whether it collects five barrels a day of oil or 50 barrels of oil a day. We need to put every skimmer to use here in Louisiana, today, not tomorrow, today.

CHETRY: And one of the questions, of course, is money. People need to get paid. BP has said they are going to do that. But the other question is whether or not the Federal Government is on board with the building of the sand berms. They have approved one project. They want to see if it works before they are moving forward. And people like, Billy Nungesser, Parish president say that is unacceptable. Let us go forward with all of it, and give us the money. How successful have those efforts been to convince the Federal Government that they need to go with this?

CAMARDELLE: Well, you know, we were talking about it, we talked to the dredge people yesterday. And right now, in the United States, there are ten major dredge companies working all over the United States. They are willing to drop what they have to do to come and protect and work from Saint Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson all the way to Cameron Parish (ph) and toward the west. And, nobody -- we need the president to say, this is what I want, we want to come protect our people in Southeast Louisiana. And that is exactly what we need him to say that and push it.

CHETRY: So you are going to get a chance to talk to him today. You also might get a chance to talk to him today. Do you think that once he comes down here and sees this firsthand, things will start moving faster?

CAMARDELLE: Yes, ma'am I think so.

BONANO: I hope so. I think he is going to hear from all our local elected officials, our Parish Presidents, and the governor, just how dire this situation is. And how Federal action needs to take place faster than it is.

CHETRY: All right, Deano Bonano and as well as Mayor David Camardelle, thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.

CAMARDELLE: Thank you.

BONANO: Thank you so much.

CHETRY: All right. Time to send it back, John, in New York. And again, as you know, locals here say you have to treat this like a war, not an oil spill.

ROBERTS: Oh yes. Absolutely, and fighting it on all fronts. The CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, told us this morning that he now believes that this represents an environmental catastrophe. It is taking an enormous toll on wildlife. It is very difficult to get accurate numbers on just how much wildlife is being affected and the extent to which it is.

We have got that story coming right up for you. It is 19 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour and a live look now, that is the -- that damaged riser right at the top of the blowout preventer. And we continue to see drilling mud coming out of the top of that, mixed with a little bit of oil and some natural gas as well.

The top kill operation under way and Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, confirmed to us earlier, they also have done the jump shot, trying to bridge the gaps in that blowout preventer. He told us that they have been able to reduce the outflow. But obviously, there is still a lot coming out there.

So while they have managed to reduce the amount of flow, there is still an awful lot that's escaping as they pump that mud down in the well to try to stop the upwelling of oil and gas. Across the region, in the gulf, volunteers and environmental experts are working around the clock to protect as much of the wildlife there as they can.

But, just how many animals have already died in the 39 days since the spill started? Our Rob Marciano tried to find out. But with BP calling the shots, it's a question even the feds are having trouble answering.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, this warehouse has been turned into a bird rescue facility. The oiled birds are washed, and rinsed here. And they are placed in these containers where they rest, they are rehabilitated until they are ready to be released. The number of live birds coming in here, well, they are all accounted for. But the number of deaths attributed to this oil spill, that's a little less clear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAY HOLCUMB, VOLUNTEER: Carol, can you warm the water up a little bit? Can you put some hot water in it? We will take his wings out and just kind of gently -- he has got very tiny, little soft bones. So I want to be careful with them.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Jay Holcomb runs this bird rescue center. One of several groups BP hired to rehabilitate wildlife. He has been cleaning and caring for oil-covered birds from almost the start of this spill. But this week, something changed. He was asked to remove the list of bird casualties from his website.

(on camera): This morning we checked and they are no longer being posted by you. Why is that?

HOLCUMB: Because, we have been asked to have people call the Joint Information Center so they can give them the people, rather than having them posted. It was a decision made by BP. So, I am not sure why.

MARCIANO: Any guesses of why they would do that?

HOLCUMB: No, I really don't know why. We just follow the command structure at this point. MARCIANO (voice-over): BP says they have nothing to hide but they just want one source for the public. The Sierra Club's Jill Mastrototaro wants more.

JILL MASTROTOTARO, SR. REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, SIERRA CLUB: It sounds like there is a cone of silence that has been issued on this situation. We are very concerned as an environmental organization trying to get the public's voice out there and trying to get access to this critical information.

MARCIANO: And it is not just information about birds that some people say is lacking. Information about other animals is far from comprehensive. We know 24 dolphins and 212 turtles have died since the spill. But, how many actually dies from the oil? No answers yet.

Tissue samples from some of the animals are being tested by NOAA. What the results are and when they will finally be done is something even the U.S. Fishing and Wildlife service is curious about. We asked them today by phone.

CHARLIE HEBERT, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: We are very curious. I have asked the same questions. And I am waiting for the same answers that you are, frankly.

HOLCUMB: I am done with washing him. He is clean. It came off really fast so that is good. I know the importance of it is, you just tell people what's happening so that they know and there is nothing to be ashamed of. We have birds that are oiled. There is already an oil spill. It can't be hidden. It is very big. And I think you just let people know the facts and that's it.

MARCIANO: Rob Marciano, CNN, Burress, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: All right, it is 27 minutes after the hour. The oil industry fighting back now against allegations that it is reckless in terms of drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico, so deep underwater, saying that the blame game is not fair. We'll cover that part of the story coming up for you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We come up to the half hour. Our top stories this morning, changing his tune, Tony Hayward, the man in charge of BP finally saying what so many experts have said for weeks, what so many people can already see with their own eyes. He joined us earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYWARD: This is clearly an environmental catastrophe. There is no two ways about it. All I would say is that in terms of the estimates, the initial rate was a government estimate. These rates are a government estimate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: An environmental catastrophe, talking about the rate at which the oil is coming out now suspected to be as much as 19,000 barrels a day, not the 5,000, which was the official figure for so long. And 11 days ago Hayward had said he thought the environmental impact would have been very, very modest.

There was an apology of sorts from the company. Yesterday BP did not tell anyone that the last best hope to stop the leak was on hold for 16 hours. On "JOHN KING USA" BP's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles admitted the company needs to work on their communication skills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG SUTTLES, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, BP: We somehow need to continually feed data out there to the public so they know what's occurring. They are obviously able to watch the plume at the end of the riser, but actually it is very difficult to tell exactly what's occurring from that.

So, John, I probably should apologize to folks that we haven't been giving data. It was nothing more than we are so focused on the operation itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Meanwhile, BP is once again pouring tons of mud into that ruptured oil well. The so called top-kill operation to flood the leak is taking longer than expected. It could be 48 hours before we know if it is successful.

President Obama is on his way to Louisiana today to personally witness the worst oil spill in this nation's history.

From New York, let's go back to Grand Isle, Louisiana, where Kiran Chetry is joining us live. We had somebody email us this morning, so we are seeing all of that mud coming out of the top of blowout preventer. Is that toxic as well? And from everything we know according to the company, it is water-based, nontoxic, it's environmentally friendly, again, that coming from the company -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Right. And there were a lot of other questions. We were live here on the Gulf coast in Grand Isle, Louisiana. People said, why are we looking behind you and the beaches look so great. When we are out here in these hours, it is low tide and so the current is pulling the oil out.

They say at high tide, late in the evening, the entire beach is oiled. And then they come in, the cleanup crews, they literally scoop it up and put it into bags and try to keep this areas as pristine as possible for now. But they know once more of this oil comes ashore, it will be a race against time.

And that's why they are so frustrated as to why these big skimming boats are not out there. They say they need these resources. Send them and let's get the oil offshore before it comes on to the coastline.

This is Memorial Day weekend. This beach is supposed to be packed. Other than camera crews and the cleanup crews, there is no one here. They are closed to visitors right now. There are fish to be caught, but fishing is banned right now.

Unfortunately, what is supposed to be one of the most fun times of year, fun weekends for this area instead is a source of a lot of anxiety, ground zero for the worst oil spill in America's history.

For many BP may be public enemy number one right now, but others in the oil industry are standing up for their business, telling Americans we are not the bad guys. And Carol Costello is joining me now. You say they are appalled as well. Many other oil executives and oil workers say this is so bad, not only for BP and the environment but for the industry at large.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is bad for the industry, just gives it a bad name. A lot of oil industry executives told me they don't care for how BP is handling this. And offshore oil and natural gas production largely continues despite what is going on here. The oil industry would like to keep it that way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Disaster doesn't begin to describe this. Despite BP's efforts to fix what's wrong, in many people's minds it remains a villain and so does the oil industry as a whole.

J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, OIL INDUSTRY LOBBYIST: So many things wrong.

COSTELLO: No one knows it more than former senator from Louisiana, Jay Bennett Johnston, former senator from Louisiana turned oil lobbyist.

(on camera): You're an oil lobbyist from the state of Louisiana, and you have the toughest job in the United States right now, don't you?

JOHNSTON: Probably. No, BP has the toughest job.

COSTELLO: You have the second toughest?

JOHNSTON: Tony Hayward has the toughest job.

COSTELLO: Now that you are witnessing all this happening and it is probably far from over, how do you lobby for the oil industry?

JOHNSTON: We have to get away from the "us versus them" us being Americans versus BP, as if somehow we can punish BP, everything will be all right.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Johnston says anger at BP is affecting every company drilling in the Gulf no matter their safety record.

OBAMA: As far as I am concerned, BP is responsible for this horrific disaster.

COSTELLO: President Obama has ordered a halt to drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf, off the Virginia coast, and Alaska for six months. But companies operating wells in shallow waters between 12 and 189 feet --

WILLIAM RICHEY, MCMORAN EXPLORATION: We chase natural gas. That's our game.

COSTELLO: Like McMoRan Oil and Gas can continue pumping natural gas and oil. It's a relief for McMoRan whose wells operate differently than those hundreds of miles offshore and consider themselves good citizens.

(on camera): I'm sure you hear what people say. People in your business are greedy. They only care about profit. What do you care if the environment is sullied?

RICHEY: That perception is not accurate, because everybody in our business, we care greatly about what we do, about working safe. We want all these women and men to go home to their families like we do every night.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Richey, like Johnston, said they are appalled by allegations of widespread corruption and lax oversight of Minerals Management Service, the government agency responsible for regulating offshore drilling.

(on camera): Did you know that kind of stuff was going on?

JOHNSTON: Of course not.

COSTELLO: Does it surprise you that these MMS people were so cozy with oil industry representatives?

JOHNSTON: No, we did not know that. Understand, I haven't been back in the senate since '96. I don't think that was at the heart of this accident, although, we will find that out, too. I think it was sloppy on behalf of the companies.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Johnston says he is in favor of a presidential commission to look into allegations of corruption. But drilling, new drilling, should continue for the good of the American economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Johnston says, like it or not, the oil industry is part of America and the majority of those who work in the industry are loyal Americans.

He says this disaster should not make the United States shy about drilling offshore. It is better than being completely dependent on foreign oil.

And Kiran, he also says now is the time not to assess blame but to work together. This is the time to work together to solve this problem. As you know, there has been a lot of criticism directed towards BP, who some say is not being a very cooperative player.

CHETRY: Right. And what's interesting, here at the local level, people understand you work on the fishing boats or you work in oil. They understand that vital relationship that takes place. That's why it is more heartbreaking when something like this happens.

COSTELLO: You forget that thousands of people work on the oil rigs.

CHETRY: You can look offshore and see the drilling rigs. Carol, you will be here throughout the week covering this story. Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Sure.

CHETRY: Right now we go back to John in New York.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Kiran.

New estimates put this as the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. As Bp's CEO told us earlier this represents nothing short of an environmental catastrophe.

But just how bad is it going to be? We will try to quantify that for you. It's 38 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Just to give you an update of where we are, according to BP, they are not pumping mud back down through the blowout preventer to try to seal it off to the point they can seal it off and put cement down that pipe and block it off permanently.

They did initiate what's known as the jump shot, trying to put a lot of debris in that preventer to reduce the outflow there. They said they had some success in doing that. They were able to reduce the amount that's leaking out. There is still a significant amount of material that's coming back out as they pump that mud back down.

It is officially the worst oil spill in U.S. history and also by a long shot, twice as big as the Exxon Valdez, and growing by the minute. Also growing is concern about the long term impact on the environment.

Joining us now to talk about the environmental impact of that is Frances Beinecke, the president of the National Resources Defense Council. You have probably heard BP CEO Tony Hayward acknowledging to us what many people already know, that this is an environmental catastrophe.

But when we think of the idea that five times as much oil as might have been calculated before might be out there, what do you think of the environmental consequences?

FRANCES BEINECKE, PRESIDENT, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: I think the environment consequences are really unknown and they are long-term. There needs to be a tremendous amount of work and research done to try to figure out what the impact is on the marine environment and on the coastal environment.

Remember, most of this oil is in the marine side going down as much as 5,000 feet where there are whales, dolphins, turtles fisheries. So there is a long term effect on what is one of the richest marine environments in the United States, and 70 percent of our oysters and shrimp come from the Gulf of Mexico.

That fishery is closed. Those people are out of work indefinitely. There is an entire tourism that depends on the beaches and the charter fishing boats, et cetera, et cetera. They are closed, or at least where the oil has impacted that, because, as the president said yesterday, a lot of it is still open. Please come down.

But this is unknown. The magnitude of this, no one really fully understand the impact. It's devastating.

ROBERTS: We should keep in mind we have never seen an oil spill like this before. The Exxon Valdez was all on the surface. It spread out and did terrible damage to the coastline out there in Prince William Sound. There was another well in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico in 1979 that ran uncontrolled for ten months spewing out 30,000 barrels a day. But that was only in 200 feet of water.

BEINECKE: That's right. I think that you know, we're 40 miles offshore. When I went to look at this, two weeks ago, it was an hour -- over an hour in the helicopter to get out there.

So this is a ways offshore. This is an unknown situation. And everyone who is working on it understands that. That's why they have had such a hard time capping it. It's why they don't really know really where the ocean currents are going with it.

We're watching the satellite monitors every day and they don't know what the long-term impacts are on the marine environment and they need to understand that.

So there's a tremendous amount of unknown. And I think, it really raises the question about what are they doing out there at 5,000 feet in the first place?

ROBERTS: Well, let me come back to this well in the Bay of Campeche (ph) in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. So much oil, millions and millions and millions of gallons of oil there's far more than is out there now were spilled into that area of the Gulf of Mexico. We don't hear anything in that area about the lingering impact.

Though, the geography is different than it is in Southern Louisiana. BEINECKE: The geography is different remember what we are very focused on here is that value; that $600 million economy that's built on the coastal environment and that is in jeopardy right now. I don't know exactly what the details were in Mexico or how much research they did afterwards which I think is a really key and pivotal issue.

ROBERTS: But that --

BEINECKE: The characteristics of the oil --

ROBERTS: Yes.

BEINECKE: -- really matter. And there's a lot of information about this oil, how much, what's happening to it that either BP knows and isn't telling us or they really don't know yet. And I think that's all to be revealed.

ROBERTS: If it comes up on a sand beach, it's possible to just scrape off the sand, take it away to a toxic waste dump and process it, whatever you want to do as we saw on Prince William Sound. You can get out there with high pressure washers and wash off the rocks, though the oil still does linger underneath the rocks.

But once it gets back up into the bayous, into those sensitive wetlands, what's the impact?

BEINECKE: Well, I think one thing is, you can't -- I mean, you can because you've been there but when you fly over those wetlands, they are vast and there are so many little bays and nooks and crannies and the shoreline is you know, just --

ROBERTS: But you don't know where shore -- shore ends and water begins it all --

(CROSSTALK)

BEINECKE: -- so once the oil gets into the wetlands, it gets into the sediments, you can't clean that up. There is no way to clean that up. So it is embedded there until it begins to break down and disintegrate. Exactly, how long that would take, we don't know yet. And there are creatures that depend on -- their whole life cycle depends there --

ROBERTS: Yes.

BEINECKE: -- whether it's the birds' nesting or the oysters in the water, et cetera. So there needs -- this needs -- this is probably the biggest research project that has to be undertaken. And meanwhile, future oil and gas leasing really has to be carefully thought through.

ROBERTS: And on that point, that the President has canceled planned lease sales for August in the western Gulf of Mexico --

BEINECKE: Right. ROBERTS: -- off of this coast of Virginia. Restrictions on new drilling in Alaska, a moratorium on new drilling in the Gulf for another six months.

But you run up against this rock in a hard place, which is the dangers of drilling but at the same time this country consumes 20 million barrels of oil every day. You don't want to have to rely on foreign sources of oil and so, there's a need for domestic supplies. So how do -- how do you --

(CROSSTALK)

BEINECKE: John, I think that this is a great opportunity to really engage in a conversation with the American public about our oil appetite. The reason they're that far offshore is that we have a voracious oil appetite.

There is a bill in Congress to create a new clean energy approach to the United States. For 40 years, we have been trying to get an energy plan that would put us on a cleaner, more efficient energy pathway. We have 250 million cars that are consuming oil every day. We need more efficient cars, we need alternative fuels, we need public transportation.

If there was ever a moment to reflect on and get that going, this is the moment. The President indicated that yesterday in his remarks and we hope that the Senate will take that up promptly because that is the only way to create a clean energy future for this country. We have to reduce our demand for oil for the reasons that you indicated.

ROBERTS: Yes.

BEINECKE: And it's possible. But we've got to get going.

ROBERTS: Frances Beinecke of Natural Resources Defense Council. Good to talk to you this morning, thanks for coming by.

BEINECKE: Thanks so much.

ROBERTS: Are you going back down to the Gulf?

BEINECKE: I am going soon.

ROBERTS: Ok.

BEINECKE: I absolutely am.

ROBERTS: All right, well, we'll check back with you.

BEINECKE: Thanks.

ROBERTS: We'll check with you while you are down there.

BEINECKE: Ok, that would be great.

ROBERTS: Ok. BEINECKE: That would be wonderful.

ROBERTS: Let's make a date, thanks.

BEINECKE: Thanks.

ROBERTS: It's now coming up to 49 minutes after the hour. Forecast for a busy hurricane season according to NOAA. What could the potential effects on the oil spill be if a storm comes along in the little while? Reynolds Wolf with the official forecast coming up for us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning. Eight minutes until the top of the hour right now.

And you're looking again at the pictures under water at the top kill operation. Earlier when we talked to the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, he said that what is coming out right now is mostly the drilling mud that they were pumping in after a 16-hour delay yesterday where they stopped pumping the mud.

They resumed that effort. Still could be 48 hours or more though, whether or not they know if that's been a success.

In the meantime, we're out here live on Grand Isle where it is beautiful but desolate. This is a Memorial Day weekend. The kickoff to a huge recreational fishing season and right now all the fishing is banned off of these waters right now because of the oil spill.

And on top of that, of course, we're heading into hurricane season as well. And forecasters are calling for a brutal hurricane season. And a lot of people are worried about how the storms could affect the oil spill.

Reynolds Wolf is in the Extreme Weather Center. And Reynolds, I know here they want to make sure that they get themselves shored up as quickly as possible, with rocks, with berms and everything. Because they're afraid that they could get a double whammy not only of course the oil coming ashore but the treacherous storm season as well.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You are really in the heart of hurricane country. I mean, my goodness, they have been pummeled by storms and had hurricanes there for centuries.

I'll tell you right now, the way things look, it looks like it may be shaping up for another active season. And there's a couple of things that NOAA has been keeping a sharp eye. One is the warm ocean temperatures. In fact, it's the highest on record. On top of that, you have very minimal upper level winds which can rip these storms apart.

So those factors are going to play into parts of what could be a very big season. In fact, Kiran, they are calling from anywhere from say 14-23 named storms; on average you have about 11. Back in 2005, for reference, they had 28. Hurricanes anywhere from 8-14; out of those 8-14, 3-7 could be major hurricanes. Average on those could be, say, normally we had 2 in 2005. We had seven that were major hurricanes.

A couple of things to know: yesterday, NOAA mentioned that the oil itself will not have impact on the intensity or size of these storms. However, what it can do, if you happen to have one of these storms, Kiran, that actually moves over the oil spill it can actually pick up a lot of that oil and then transfer it on shore which, of course, furthers contamination.

So certainly bad news there.

Meanwhile, let's talk about something else. What we are going to be seeing in parts of the Pacific is possibly the first named storm in the eastern Pacific. This is maybe Agatha in the coming days. It is really a mess for the time being. But deep convection right off Guatemala. We're going to watch that for you very carefully.

You are probably watching the coast if you are going to be heading out to the beaches. Conditions should be fairly nice in the Gulf of Mexico. We are going to give you updates coming up throughout the rest of the morning. Let's send it back to you.

CHETRY: All right. Reynolds thanks so much. John, the eerie thing about this is, it is so beautiful here. This time of day in low tide, the oil is not washing to shore. You can't even smell oil where we are right now. They say that when high tide comes in, it is a totally different story. They start to see that red water and the oil gum up the shores every single evening.

ROBERTS: It's just such a beautiful part of the world, too and to see it fouled like that is nothing short of tragic. Kiran thanks.

Our CNN heroes, they are everyday people changing the world. This week, in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, we want to check in with one of our all-stars from 2009 who is expanding his work with veterans.

Here is Roy Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please stand up and honor CNN hero, Roy Foster.

ROY FOSTER, CNN HERO, 2009: I was overwhelmed at the tribute.

There will be no man left behind as long as we are this nation.

To be honored in something that you love doing showcased internationally was tremendous and is still reaping benefits as we speak today.

We did come up with Stand Down House ten years ago to provide assistance and services for homeless veterans. Every day, they would bounce to another place, go to the hospital, go to the V.A., try to meet their criteria. It's a natural run around. There was never that support for the family or the female veterans.

This year, we have been fortunate enough to complete that vision. We were looking to establish a one-stop center, a place where we can move them through the process under one roof. That's what it is about.

Hello. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my living room.

FOSTER: The second part is the housing component for our female veterans and families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My pride is restored. I'm able to look for jobs, not worry about where am I going to go when I come home?

FOSTER: CNN put us where I could share the full dream with people and place a pivotal role in actually being able to bring that dream forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And to nominate someone who you think is changing the world, just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

Three minutes now to the top of the hour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: And we're live here again on the Gulf Coast in the town of Grand Isle, Louisiana. The population just under 2000, but this time of year, that normally swells to above 20,000 with tourists, visitors, recreational fishermen. Now unfortunately, the beaches are closed. The fishing boats sit idle.

And later this morning, President Obama will be here. There, we see a little snail or a crab moving along the water right there; looks beautiful now but a different story once high tide comes in. Every night, they come and clean the oil off these shores. And President Obama is going to be here firsthand to witness the devastation as local leaders continue their calls for more resources to skim and collect the oil.

We will wait and see what happens and whether or not the response will get ratcheted up after a presidential visit later today -- John.

ROBERTS: All right, Kiran. Continue the conversation on today's stories; go to our blog at CNN.com/amFIX.

That is going to wrap it up for us. As you get ready to enjoy yourself this Memorial Day, keep in mind those who currently serve and those who have died so that you can have a holiday weekend.

The news continues now on CNN with Fredricka Whitfield in the "CNN NEWSROOM".