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Top Kill Method Has Failed

Aired May 29, 2010 - 19:00   ET

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

BALDWIN: All right. Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin at the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta, sitting in for Don Lemon.

We want to follow this breaking story out of Louisiana. We have just heard the news - the news none of us wanted to hear, the fact that the "top kill" has failed to stop the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico. Now BP is abandoning that method, as we just heard from COO Doug Suttles, and they are going to yet another backup plan.

Now, the company says it's pumped 30,000 barrels of heavy mud into this well over the past three days to try and plug it up. That's what they called the "top kill."

Intermittently, they also tried what's called the junk shot a couple of times. It's when they grab a bunch of debris, golf balls, tires, and they shoot that into the leak as well. No success there. BP now saying it is time to move on.

You've been watching along with me this picture underwater. We've been watching this thing for days. We have a monitor of this in our CNN NEWSROOM. We're all watching these pictures.

This is a combination of mud, gas and oil that is still blowing out of the sea floor, and now that the "top kill" has failed, now that we heard those words, BP is going on to the next step, what they called a lower marine riser package, or called it a LMRP. That's the acronym.

So what is that, right? That's the next question we're all asking.

Here's what it is. It's a custom-made cap that simply goes on top of the well's blowout preventer. Remember, it was the blowout preventer or the BOP that didn't work. But crews have to cut the damaged riser off before trying to fasten the new one, and that could spill many other problems for BP and for this thing.

We're going to talk all about this over the course of the next couple of hours. We have team coverage for you throughout the night here at CNN, and I want to begin with - we have David Mattingly. We have Eric Smith out of Tulane. We have Dan Lothian out of Chicago. We have Jacqui Jeras standing to my right here in the CNN Center. We have Carol Costello at Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

But I want to begin with David Mattingly, because David has been down there covering this thing for us for -- David, I think it's, what, more than a month now. And you were just sitting in on that press conference, that room in Robert, Louisiana, where we all heard the news. Doug Suttles coming out of the gate and saying the "top kill" has not worked.

You were right out of the gate, as well, with your first question saying, look, this was what you told us B.P. would be the possibility for the highest success rate and the fewest risks. And what was his answer to you?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's put this in perspective first. This top kill was B.P.'s best chance to stop this leak and cap it temporarily until they could permanently kill this well. In fact, while they were pumping that mud down there for the first time since this disaster happened, they were actually able to stop the flow of that crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. So, now that this operation has failed, not only is it a dead-end for this top kill, but it is a step backward for the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, they're going to abandon their attempt to stop the flow of this oil. Their next step is going to be a new version of a containment dome on top of this device that will, again, try to contain this oil. And they say they're probably not going to be able to stop the entire flow of oil. So, again, we're going to be having crude oil leaking back into the Gulf of Mexico.

And another thing we learned from the Coast Guard today that they will continue with the subsea dispersant spraying, something else that they had stopped.

So again, not only a dead-end when it comes to this top kill, but it's a step backwards in terms of releasing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and using that subsea dispersant.

So, we asked B.P.: how did this happen? How did this fail? And they really don't know why it failed at this point.

Just a few moments ago, I got an e-mail statement from CEO of B.P., Tony Hayward. And he says, "I am disappointed that this operation did not work. The team executed the operation perfectly. And the technology worked without a single hitch. We remain committed to doing everything we can to make this situation right."

So, listening to CEO of B.P., Tony Hayward, he is saying everything seemed to work. They don't know why they weren't able to overcome this problem of the flow coming up from the well. The entire point of that operation was to drown this well and that heavy liquid, force that oil back down below so they could seal it up with cement. They weren't able to beat that pressure fight with the oil.

So, now, they're just going to have to move forward with their next plan, which is not to stop the oil, but to contain it using a modified version of that containment dome that they've tried in another couple of occasions.

BALDWIN: Yes. I mean, David, let's talk about that.

MATTINGLY: Now, this is going to take place --

BALDWIN: Let me -- let me jump in because I want to remind everyone who's been following this what seems like a saga, they remember. It was the containment dome, and they were going to place this containment dome over the leak and then siphon the oil to a ship above and move it out of the way. Now, the containment dome, as we remember, didn't work.

MATTINGLY: Right. That was -- yes.

BALDWIN: Go ahead.

MATTINGLY: Yes. That was something they tried a couple of weeks ago. And it was a massive failure. But they say they learned from that. And now they've got some modified reengineered version of a containment dome that they're going to put on top of the blowout preventer down there. You know that spot -- and if you want to bring up the video that we've been looking at 24 hours now --

BALDWIN: We have it.

MATTINGLY: -- of that material escaping in the Gulf of Mexico. Well, that is a kink in the riser pipe right at the top of the blowout preventer.

So, where you see all of that coming out right now, they're going to saw that off now. They're going to have to be able to saw that pipe off, get a clean sort of cut across the top there, and then they're going to put this other device on there, this new modified reengineered containment dome. It's going to have a seal on it. But it's not going to be a really tight seal.

So they can't guarantee they're going to stop all of the oil. They say they're going to trap most of the oil that's coming out of there, but not all of it. So that's the huge disappointment here.

They were looking at being able to stop the oil from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico and now they can't do it. They're going to be going to this next operation where they hope to trap most of the oil, but not stop it.

BALDWIN: David Mattingly, do me a favor and stand by because you talk about disappointment. And we'll talk with you, David, about this LMRP and what exactly that means and how that works momentarily.

But speaking of disappointment, one man who I'm going to guess is perhaps more than disappointed is Plaquemines Parish president, Billy Nungesser. We have Billy on the phone.

Billy, you are watching this news conference along with us. Just what was your immediate reaction?

BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH (via telephone): I was about to go on stage at the seafood festival, and I was handed a BlackBerry by our councilman, Chris Roberts from Jefferson Parish, and I saw the message and my knees got weak. And I looked out over the crowd and I forgot everything I was going to tell them. And I could not -- didn't have the heart to tell them it didn't work. I told them stay positive, stay encouraged, we're going to do everything we can to save our wetlands and wildlife. I just don't know what to say.

You know, all the pastors I'd met with the other night, part of their sermon every Sunday is to pray for this thing to be stopped. There won't be no need to pray tomorrow morning. I mean, they'll pray for it, but we've got to -- the only thing that's going to stop this oil is they've got -- we're not counting on anything until this well relief well is drilled.

BALDWIN: Yes.

NUNGESSER: And B.P. has got to step up to the plate today. And they've got to say at least to the six areas that the Corps of Engineers gave us permits, they need to be on the phone with the governor of Louisiana tonight saying that they will approve and pay to move those dredges and pump that sand berms to stop that oil from coming in. We are going to die a slow death here in Louisiana if we don't get that berm out there.

And I know the president of the United States will give us an answer by Wednesday, and I really thank him for everything that we talked about yesterday. A lot of things have changed. We've got new machines going in the water today. They're going to suck up some of that oil. And we've got a lot of troops on the ground. And we appreciate that backup.

But not -- anything short of doing everything physically possible we can is unacceptable. And we've got to have that barrier island. You see what it's done in those marshes. You can't clean it up.

BALDWIN: Yes.

NUNGESSER: It is destroying our way of life. And unless B.P. steps up to the plate, not next week, tonight -- tonight, Mr. President of B.P., you can move those dredges tonight and we can start saving coastal Louisiana.

BALDWIN: I know you say that you and speaking, I guess, on behalf of really the entire Gulf Region, not just Plaquemines Parish really dying a slow death. I know we saw the words from you. You met with the president. You were very encouraged by his words and hopefully, his action.

And this is not the news any of us wanted to hear. And as you mentioned those relief wells, which I think they say the time line for those would be August when we finally, perhaps, you know, fix this thing. But in the meantime, the oil will perhaps continue to gush.

And so, if I'm hearing you correctly, that your most immediate concern is the marshland. Is that right? In building those barriers to protect the marsh?

NUNGESSER: And listen, you know, instead of killing this plan and saying we can't do it quick enough, we're not sure it would work, we don't have a better plan. And, you know, I've said it before, General Patton said a good plan executed wildly and immediately is better than a perfect plan executed next week. And those are words of a great leader.

And we need to execute our plan now. And because we're not doing everything we can. You know, Monday or Tuesday, by Wednesday, we'll have an answer from the Coast Guard directed by the president. And we appreciate that.

But B.P. could step up to the plate tonight. They don't have to wait on anybody. All they got to do is agree to pay for it. And we are ready to go to work 24/7 to make it happen.

BALDWIN: I mean, is that essentially, Billy, if B.P.'s CEO, Tony Hayward, called you up right now on your BlackBerry, what words would you want to hear from him?

NUNGESSER: That he is going to do everything physically possible to save our wetlands. You know, there's -- it takes a bigger man to realize you make mistakes than to keep denying. And after seeing the pictures of the wildlife and the marshlands, I don't think anybody can agree that had we been able to start that berm when we wanted to start and we would've started it when it was closest to shore, we could've saved some of those marshlands.

We can still save the majority of them. But we've got to get working immediately.

BALDWIN: Yes.

NUNGESSER: If B.P.'s got a better plan, the booms are not working. We've been saying that from day one. They're not ocean-going booms. I was out there this morning. They're redeploying the same booms every day.

This berm would be there, we could clean the oil off of it. It won't send oil to Mississippi. That is ridiculous. The oil's not going to say -- the oil's coming in with this wind and the waves. And when it hits that beach, it'll stay there and we'll pick it up the next day.

If that island's not there, it's either going further into the marsh, or it's going east or west. And if it goes east, it's then going to Mississippi.

BALDWIN: Right.

NUNGESSER: So, these islands would actually help the whole Gulf Coast by anything coming to shore would be on the beaches where we could clean it up.

BALDWIN: Billy Nungesser, we thank you for calling us right after you heard the bad news. And we thank you and I'm sure we'll be talking in the near future. Billy Nungesser, Plaquemines Parish president, thank you.

Folks, still much more ahead as we continue to follow the breaking story for the Gulf Coast. B.P. is telling us just about an hour ago that the top kill procedure that they've been -- had in effect really since, I think, it was Wednesday afternoon to stop that oil flow out of that broken pipe, they said it's not working.

Next, we will hear from Carol Costello. She is in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. We will also hear from professor from Tulane University. He'll walk me through exactly how B.P. may go about fixing this ongoing problem.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And again, in case you're just now joining us, we have now gotten word from B.P. and the Coast Guard that the so-called "top kill" did not work. They had it in effect since Wednesday. They have not been able to successfully stop that flow of oil that has been gushing daily there 5,000 feet under water.

We are attacking this with every angle, talking about next steps, what might work, what might not.

I want to talk to Carol Costello. She's been following the spill response for us. She's also been with crews who are trying to clean up this oily mess that we have all seen the pictures washing up along parts of the coastline.

And, Carol, I understand crews right now, in fact, are working on this new effort to keep the oil from reaching the shore.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this has been an ongoing effort. So, this is a bit of bright news in all the darkness. The National Guard -- the Louisiana National Guard has been out in force trying to put up barriers to stop an oily flow of water if it happens from washing ashore on Grand Isle, Louisiana.

I was out yesterday, and I was talking to Lieutenant Kelly Hudson. And he was telling me that they are determined to lay the seven miles of inflatable pipe and create a barrier between the ocean, between the Gulf waters and the rest of the beach. So, if the oily waters should wash up, the barrier would protect the sand behind it.

And I don't know what you're looking at now because I can't see it. But I can sort of explain to you what's going to happen.

They're laying the seven miles of inflatable pipe. And then they're going to siphon water from the Gulf of Mexico into these pipes, which will make them bigger. When they have all seven miles of this pipe laid down and filled with water, they'll put another pipe on top of them so it'll be stacked a little higher. And this will create a barrier between the Gulf of Mexico and the beach, and hopefully stop anything bad from washing it and affecting the sand behind it.

Now, this is an example of how hard they're working. It is really hot out here, Brooke. It's like 90 degrees. The humidity's very high. The weather was really bad today.

But there are three shifts of national guardsmen, 150 in all, they're working 24/7 in three shifts and they're going to have this barrier completed in five days.

BALDWIN: In five days. That is amazing. I know we've been seeing --

COSTELLO: In five days. Yes. Listen to what the lieutenant says.

BALDWIN: Sure. Let's run that.

COSTELLO: Listen to what the lieutenant says. He could probably explain it better than I.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. KELLY HUDSON, LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD: The tiger dam is used specifically for this purpose. Whether you're going to try to protect the beaches from hurricane force winds and waves, or whether you're going to try to keep contaminant from coming onshore, this is exactly what it was designed to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, you heard the lieutenant, he has faith in this barrier. And hopefully, it will work. Hopefully, it won't be necessary. But it's there just in case.

But there is a feeling now, because this top kill procedure didn't work, Brooke, that it is inevitable some bad stuff is going to wash ashore on Grand Isle.

BALDWIN: Now, we -- let me just have a quick follow-up for you, Carol and that is while I was just chatting with Billy Nungesser who was frustrated and who's really been pushing this whole barrier plan, dredging up the sand, et cetera, to keep some of that oil from the precious marshland. And his point was the fact that the booms aren't working.

Is that one of the reasons why we have all of these national guardsmen out and about putting these barriers up that you've been talking about?

COSTELLO: I can't answer that question. I can tell you that the National Guard told me they were working with B.P. This is a cooperative effort. And they said that B.P. has been a really good partner in this particular effort. And they had no qualms about it.

So, that is another bit of bright news.

BALDWIN: Right.

COSTELLO: It seems the collaborative effort between the National Guard and B.P., at least that's there.

The locals that I talked with yesterday and today said that they're ready to work. They're ready to make some money to go out and like stop this flow of oily water that may or may not come to Grand Isle. But they're not hearing from B.P.

So, the locals are frustrated, but the National Guard isn't.

BALDWIN: Well, B.P., if you're listening, hire those locals. I know when I was down there a couple of weeks ago, the locals were saying to me, you know, it's been tough, the economy's awful. But they're hoping to make a little bit of money and feed their families because of this horrendous disaster.

Carol Costello, standby for me.

COSTELLO: One of the things that --

BALDWIN: Go ahead. Go ahead.

COSTELLO: OK. I was going to say, one of the things that they have to do before they can actually help with this process is they have to take classes so that they can be prepared to deal with hazardous material. So take some time to take these classes, and then you have to get certified, and then finally B.P. can put them to work. So that takes time, as well.

BALDWIN: Sure.

COSTELLO: You have to keep that in mind.

BALDWIN: To B.P.'s credit, they want to keep people safe. They absolutely do. And we want safe workers.

Carol Costello, thank you. Stand by.

Let me move on to Eric Smith who I was talking to just a little while ago. Again, Dr. Smith is a professor at Tulane University and associate director of the school's energy institute.

And, sir, if I can just start with -- you heard the press conference along with me. We heard that from B.P. COO, Doug Suttles, that they were unable to stop the flow of this oil. That the top kill did not work.

Were you surprised by that news?

ERIC SMITH, TULANE UNIVERSITY ENERGY INSTITUTE: Well, I thought there was always that risk because, remember, we're venting into the Gulf. And the vent's a lot closer to where they were injecting the mud than the oil is. So, there was always a tendency for the pressure to leak out and the mud not be effective in terms of suppressing the oil.

As long as they were pumping hard 65 gallons a minute, they were able to suppress the oil, but probably, you know, 60 gallons -- I'm sorry, 60 barrels a minute -- 60 was going into the ocean not into the well.

BALDWIN: We had heard from officials through the week. They had given it, I think, it was a 70 percent success possibility. And so, I think a lot of people were hoping and praying it would work, it did not.

So, now, Professor, if you can help me understand what in the world this next backup plan is that they're calling the LMRP, which is an acronym for Lower Marine Riser Package. Is that essentially taking this custom fit cap, throwing it on where this leak is, but in order to do that, they'll have to cut the riser thus bringing more oil into the Gulf.

Walk me through that, please.

SMITH: Well, I think one thing to recognize is that from what Mr. Suttles was saying that the oil pressures are not so high that they expect to see a lot more oil going into the Gulf. All of the oil that's going into the riser is coming out of the riser through those ragged brakes and the end of the pipe.

What you see in your picture right now is this new cap. And as you can see, it's installed on the stub of a pipe that exists after they cut off the riser. And bevel and smooth the edge out so this new cap has no space for water to get in to the fluid flow and cause hydrates to form. That was the problem the last time we tried the containment approach.

BALDWIN: Right. The crystals that had formed and they couldn't do the containment dome.

SMITH: Right.

BALDWIN: They couldn't place the containment dome on the top.

Now, I know you said that the flow is less. But the fact of the matter is -- and we're looking at the live pictures under the water -- the fact of the matter is the oil is flowing. And cutting off that riser would mean that flow would increase until that cap is placed on top, correct?

SMITH: Well, to the degree that there's any constriction resulting from all of the kinks and bends in the riser, I would agree with you. But I don't think that they're materially decreasing the flow. I could be wrong. But I think that what you're seeing is the -- virtually, the entire flow that's coming up the well bore. There's very little back pressure being generated by that bent riser.

BALDWIN: We heard from both B.P. and the Coast Guard that this process, this LMRP, would take somewhere in the neighborhood of four to seven days. How hopeful are you that this will work?

SMITH: Well, I think a lot of it depends on how long it takes to cut the pipe and clean up the surface. There are three or four different ways they can cut it. I think they've got, you know, probably a diamond wire cutter that we use quite a bit in the Gulf, particularly for cutting off the legs of old platforms. Something like that or an entrained grit cutter can be deployed with an ROV and would make a fairly clean cut.

I think they're trying to avoid using a circular saw like the one they used earlier in the process when they closed off the small leak because that would create a constriction on the flow. It would jam the blade, and it would take longer to make the cut. BALDWIN: Now, as you talk about using this diamond cutter to cut the riser, I think it's worth reemphasizing the fact that this has never been done before. We're talking, we heard Mr. Suttles saying, look, this is the kind of thing that's been tried on the surface, but never 5,000 feet under water.

You mentioned the ROVs, the robots that will be doing the cutting. I mean, if you can just -- this has never been done before. And this is a tricky procedure, is it not?

SMITH: It is tricky, but remember, we have made cuts on pipes before in deep water. And essentially this deep because we're forever going down to change pipeline flow rates and change pipeline routing and the way they do that is to cut the pipe. The Europeans have had a system for several years that I was involved in early in the 2000 timeframe. And we have that same equipment here in the Gulf for pipeline repairs because if you remember after Hurricane Katrina, we had a lot of pipelines that were leaking.

BALDWIN: All right. Professor Eric Smith --

SMITH: So, there's a little bit of --

BALDWIN: There's a little bit of a delay.

SMITH: -- a little bit of a positive glimmer at the end of that tunnel.

BALDWIN: Well, we're all about positive glimmers. I think a lot of people watching and waiting for this thing to be capped. We're all waiting for that. Hopefully, it will happen soon.

Professor Smith with Tulane University, thank you very much.

And folks, we have to sneak a quick break in. We are all over this story. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Check on our top stories now, including the news we learned just within the last hour or so regarding this picture we've all been watching out in the Gulf of Mexico. We learned from B.P.'s COO, Doug Suttles, that the top kill did not work. They were not able to plug that leak with the kill mud and then ultimately hoping to put that concrete down there.

We have learned they're moving on to plan B, or C, or D, which is the LMRP, which is the Lower Marine Riser Package. We'll learn a lot more about what that means and the possibility of successes are through this evening.

In the meantime, some other stories we want to brief you on here.

Up to 50,000 people swarmed the streets of Phoenix today to protest Arizona's tough new immigration law. Take a look at the crowd there. In the meantime, supporters of the measure are holding their own rally at a baseball stadium in Tempe tonight. The dueling protests come as Arizona Governor Jan Brewer says she's hiring private attorneys to defend the controversial law against legal challenges. She says attorneys -- Arizona's attorney general simply cannot do the job because he has been critical of this particular legislation.

Iraqi police have recovered $1.3 million from a bank heist in the southern city of Najaf. The thieves used novel approach to steal the money. They actually gave tea laced with a sleeping drug to the bank guards. Once the guards fell asleep, the bandits walked in, took the money. More than $4 million is still missing. At least one suspect we have now learned has been arrested.

And a rare victory for gay rights activists in Africa today. The president of Malawi has pardoned two gay men convicted of crimes related to their relationship. The court has originally sentenced both men to 14 years in prison. The Malawi president said the men had committed a crime against the country's culture, religion, and laws -- but did issue the pardon anyway simply on humanitarian grounds.

And everybody agrees that improving education is certainly a top priority, right? And that means that money has to be spent. Well, differences arise over exactly how to go about that.

CNN education contributor, Steve Perry, sat down with former Senate Republican leader, Trent Lott, to get his perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRENT LOTT, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: The answer to education is not just more money. It's not just stimulus money, it's not just money for technology, it's how you use that money. And I emphasize rewards and incentives rather than punishments for the kids or for the teachers.

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): Many don't want to hear that, though.

LOTT: And I think that's wrong. I think that tenure and seniority as the only, you know, criteria for staying in position and getting pay is not the right thing. I mean, this is America. And in America, you work hard, you give it your best, you show results, and you can succeed.

PERRY: I just wonder if some of the reason why the black community in particular and other minority communities and specifically poor communities have had trouble believing in the Republican party is because of some of the decisions that the Republicans have made.

LOTT: That's what Democrats say. And that's what they want to talk about. I think there are many aspects to what the Obama administration and the race to the top that has some positive features.

PERRY: Let's hear about that. I'm very interested in hearing what you have to say. LOTT: I think that they are trying to improve the quality of education. I wouldn't agree with all of it and there was $10 billion in there for education. Now I didn't think they used that $10 billion all that wisely. There's some good things in that program. You're going to need leadership from the president and from the leaders in the Congress to say, all right, we're not going to continue down the path we've been going for the last two years. We're going to take - maybe we'll take up a different order of priorities. One of those could be education.

PERRY (voice-over): Steve Perry, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's get you back on track with our breaking news coverage of the oil spill that continues way out in the Gulf of Mexico. Some 5,000 feet under water. We are getting word now the White House is responding to this latest news. The fact that the top kill has failed. We will get you that response just ahead.

Also a reminder, we will be with you live. I'm not moving, for the next several hours and I hope you don't move either as we continue to follow and dissect this breaking news. The fact that the top kill has not worked. And what is next? Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. As we continue to talk about the news just within the last hour or hour and a half, from BP CEO Doug Suttles, the fact that the top kill is not working. We are now looking beyond that, looking to other options, BP, the Coast Guard has to possibly stop this leak.

And for that, I want to turn to my colleague, meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. And Jacqui, you and I have been talking about this thing even through the commercial breaks just trying to understand what exactly what this LMRP, this next step really is.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, it's really kind of a Band-aid. It's putting a cap over the problem. And so it's going to contain some of the oil, they say, but it's not going to stop it altogether. So that's the one big thing that we need to know about this next procedure.

And going into the top kill, we knew that was kind of the one last hope the one procedure that they thought really could work compared to anything else that they've been looking at up to this point. So let's talk about the LMRP, the Lower Marine Riser Package.

And this is the B.O.P., or the blowout preventer. And if you remember, this is the thing that failed from the very beginning. It's a very, very tall series of valves that are put together designed to stop off any type of leak that could potentially happen.

So let's put this into motion. Sitting on top of the B.O.O., we have what we call the riser. And basically the riser for the most part is just some kind of a pipe. OK. And there's a break in the pipe right now. And this is where the big leak is taking place.

All right. These two things you see here, these are the R.O.V.s, or the remotely operated vehicles. They're going to go in, they're going to snip off the top of this thing. When they do that, that is going to allow any oil that is coming out of here to flow back into the ocean. The cap is going to come down over the top of it.

On the top of the little cap here, you're going to put in another riser. And this riser will then direct any oil that's collected on up into a ship. So this is not going to be a tight seal, but they think that for the most part, it should collect most of the oil that is leaking out.

Now, we heard from Doug Suttles. He said that he wasn't really concerned about cutting off that pipe. Because, Brooke, we are talking that if you cut this thing off -

BALDWIN: Right.

JERAS: Everything just blows out, right?

BALDWIN: I was asking Eric Smith the same thing. Our professor from Tulane. And he said, look, if the flow of the oil is much less, I didn't get the sense from him that this would be a bad thing per se.

So that tells me that most of the oil is coming out right now. Where it's not going to make much of a difference overall. So, yes, this is - they think that they've learned a lot from trying the top hat the first time around that they should be able to do this type of procedure. But ultimately, this is just trying to help the situation. You know, we're talking two months before the quote "permanent solution."

BALDWIN: The relief wells.

JERAS: Which is the relief wells. And so they're saying anything they do between now and then will just try and help contain it or make the problem better, basically. It won't solve it unless somebody comes up with some kind of a new idea that we haven't heard about just yet.

So to review the relief well, put this into perspective for you. Here you can see is the main well that has been dug. And so what they're doing is they're drilling in two different areas and it's kind of coming together here at the bottom. And they're going to drill into that, put the concrete in here, and they say that in essence will plug up this well and stop the whole thing altogether.

It's a three-month process, we're over a month already into digging the first well. And it's not just that easy of a thing. You can't just take a little drill bit, put it down there, no big problem.

BALDWIN: The rocks.

JERAS: Yes, solid rock in this area. So it takes a long time to get all of that hammering done and make this process work. BALDWIN: So perhaps as we hear about this LMRP and think just doing my reading beyond that, they're already thinking of a possible second blowout preventer. These are all different fixes, but what I'm getting from you and what I'm getting from others is the final we hope permanent fix are the relief wells.

JERAS: Right. Well, we heard today LMRP. It's a mouthful, isn't it? That's the main thing. We didn't hear them say anything about the other option even talking about for weeks now, which is putting the blowout preventer on top of the blowout preventer. So my guess is they're thinking maybe that's not such a great idea at this point. We're just going to do, you know, containment as much as we can at this level.

BALDWIN: That was the best illustration I've seen thus far. And just all of us trying to understand -

JERAS: It helps you get the - the pictures help, don't they?

BALDWIN: -- how this works. Jacqui Jeras, thank you, thank you.

JERAS: Sure.

We have certainly all seen what this oil spill has really done to the water in the gulf, right? But what about the dangers it poses to some of the workers' health? That after the break.

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BALDWIN: The news that the top kill has failed caps off a tough week for the congressman who represents the Louisiana coast. Representative Charlie Melancon could not finish his statement before a committee on Thursday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE MELANCON, LOUISIANA: Our culture is threatened, our coastal economy is threatened. And everything that I know and love is at risk. Even though this marsh lies - along coastal Louisiana, these are America's wetlands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, Congressman Melancon now has to face his constituents with the news that the oil will continue to ruin their waters, their beaches. And he's good enough to join me this evening. And congressman, you heard the news. I talked to Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser and he told his knees went weak. What was your reaction?

MELANCON: I guess I would have to say my heart broke. I just came in from Plaquemines Parish. I was in Lord Jefferson this morning in the marshes, looking at the booming operations and the inner marshes, the secondary barrier area. But just like Mr. Nungesser, and just like hundreds of thousands if not millions of others, very disheartening. BALDWIN: It's disheartening and perhaps maddening, as well. I mean, what is your - as, you know, what do you tell your constituents, sir? What is your next step when you wake up tomorrow morning and have to face these people who are angry at BP?

MELANCON: Well, we're all frustrated, and we're all angry. These are very resilient people that are tough. And as I've told people, I guess if the lord picked a place on earth to show us how to be strong, he's got the right people. But it gets quite trying after Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, and now Deep Water Horizon.

So it's difficult. I met with a group of people down in Buris, no longer than about two hours ago, business people concerned about the future, about making investments, about whether they'll even be there a year from now. And that's what's so upsetting is the inability to know exactly what your future holds. Where you are, where you come from, where you live, where you've made your living. It's, it's, you know, we can't - it's a guess.

Will we be another six months? Will we be a year? Will this all cause decimation of the areas that we live in? will there be an oil industry? Will there be a fishing industry? Will the marshes survive? There's so many questions that are in people's minds that are unanswerable at this point in time that the frustrations and, yes, the anger is building.

BALDWIN: Let me just back pedal for a second and ask you, what were you told? Did you get a heads up on your Blackberry that the top kill didn't work? And how was the news delivered to you?

MELANCON: My wife actually was in the car and was telling me it came on her Blackberry. I didn't have a Blackberry on. I was with a public official that's a friend of mine that also got it at about the same time. And we were riding down the road and it was just - nothing you can say other than, well, I can't say what I thought I'd like to say. But that's just sad.

BALDWIN: It is sad. Sir, what are your greatest fears? I think you already touched on that with the fact that the future is unknown. As I hear you take this deep sigh, what is your biggest fear today?

MELANCON: The biggest fear is an environmental catastrophe that ruins not only the Gulf of Mexico but all the estuaries and wetlands that surround it. And that's from a - I guess, an area where I'm from and if you really want to expound on that, if this oil starts continuing to flow - if it continues to flow and gets into the loop currents, god knows who's going to be affected.

BALDWIN: I think I heard you this week -

MELANCON: Of course, I -

BALDWIN: Go ahead.

MELANCON: Go ahead. I - an official from another state made some comment about, well, what if this oil gets to the Florida beaches, then we're really going to have a mess. And it's kind of like, you know, it's already gotten to our shores and we've got a mess. Louisiana's economy, the coastal portions of Louisiana. If you add the economic impact, the GDP, south Louisiana's coastal area is number 29th in the world in economic driver in GDP. We're pretty stealth, but we don't get looked upon as that type of production.

We are the number one producer of income to the federal treasury after income taxes from corporate and individuals in this country. $5 billion to $6 billion a year just from offshore oil. So the concern also that was expressed in the meeting with the president the other day. We realized we need to police these folks. We realized we need to make sure that this deep water drilling is as safe for the people in the environment as it can be.

But if we put a moratorium on it, our economy will then become a diving - take a dive and we have been in one of the bright spots in the economy in this country over the last two years.

BALDWIN: Congressman Melancon, I wanted to ask you about that moratorium on offshore drilling and about these health clinics that you're helping get set up. I got other questions for you, sir, can I just put you on the spot live on TV and ask you to stick around?

MELANCON: Sure.

BALDWIN: Would you mind?

MELANCON: I'd be happy to.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

MELANCON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Let me just move on. We've got to get a break in. Let me tell you that we've seen what the oil spill has done to the water. What about the dangers that it poses as we were just discussing to our health? We'll take a look at that. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's get a quick check of some of our top stories including our breaking story. The fact that BP has now come out this evening, we heard them in the news conference out of Robert, Louisiana, saying this top kill procedure is not working. They were not able to shove all of that mud and then ultimately they were hoping to shove that concrete into that leak, didn't work.

Now time for another backup plan. That being what they're calling the LMRP, that an acronym for the Lower marine Riser Package, essentially cutting the riser, placing a custom-fit cap, siphoning the oil up to ship above. Real quickly. Tony Hayward have e-mail from him in my hand. He says I'm disappointed the operation did not work but we remain committed to doing everything that we can to make the situation right.

Moving on, off of oil here a Taliban leader in Afghanistan's Baghlan's province has been killed by NATO air strikes. NATO says the precision strikes killed the so-called shadow governor and several of his fighters. He was suspected of organizing and directing attacks on coalition forces and was believed to be plotting a raid on an Afghan National Police outpost.

Also, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak says he got a telephone call from former president Bill Clinton offering him a possible unpaid advisory position if he would stay out of Pennsylvania's senate primary. Well, Sestak declined the offer. He entered the primary. We learned recently he won that primary.

Now the White House come forward. They have acknowledged the phone call, that it was initiated by President Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. The White House Council issued a document Friday stating that the offer to Sestak was neither illegal nor was it unethical.

Concorde, start your engine. The aeronautics group in France is testing the engine of a Concorde passenger jet to see if it will work. They say, so far, so good. The group wants the supersonic jet to greet visitors at a air museum outside of Paris by taxing down the runway. They said that's about all it can do. The Concorde line was permanently grounded, remember after that 2000 crash in Paris that killed more than a hundred people.

And there is no tougher job in the world being mom or a dad, right? But especially if the parent has a lot of growing up do themselves. The parents, I said. VH-1 new show it's called "Dad Camp," Dr. Jeff Gardere tries to help six troubled fathers to be prepared for their new responsibilities and he's offering some tough love to these young men. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEFF GARDERE: Your women are fed-up. They're fed-up with the smoking, they're fed-up with the drinking. They're fed-up with the lying. That probably hits close to home, doesn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bet it does.

GARDERE: Yes. I'm sure it does. You can't even take care of yourselves. How the hell are you going to take care of a baby?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Dr. Jeff, whoo, you're tough, sir. Dr. Jeff Gardere is a renowned psychologist and the host there, as you saw, the clip from "Dad Camp" and he's joining me from Stanford, Connecticut. Dr. Jeff, all right, for all of the to-be dads out there, what is the most important quality in becoming a dad, and can you really teach that to someone?

GARDERE: Well, first and foremost, my heart and prayers to the people of Louisiana, and thank you for the great job that you all are doing in bringing this story in all of its phases to your audiences.

BALDWIN: Thank you. GARDERE: I think basically what parents need to understand, dads need to understand, is that they are essential to the healthy upbringing of their children and they have to step up. We can't leave it to the moms who carry the babies, the dads have to be there in every way as role models and most importantly they have to be there as a support throughout the life of the child.

BALDWIN: Support, support. I want to play a couple of clips from "Dad Camp" to show exactly what, or I guess, or who you're up against. Let's roll those and then we'll talk.

GARDERE: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Am I supposed to just leave a whole completely different life because I have a kid? My kid has to like me whether he likes it or not.

GARDERE: Isn't it your girlfriend having to live a whole new life while she carries that baby?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, so what does that mean that I stay at home with her every night watching her pregnant? I don't think so. And there's nobody whose going to change my mind about that. I was doing that before. I can continue to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He can continue do that, Dr. Jeff.

GARDERE: Brooke, now you know how outraged I was while doing this show. I really didn't know what I was coming up against with these guys.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GARDERE: I was told look we're going to have these - six guys and their girlfriends for you to work with, put them through this boot camp but I didn't realize how emotionally damaged these guys were from their own upbringings with their fathers.

Their fathers weren't really there for them. So these guys didn't have the role model. So when you hear, in this case, it was Dante talking about, listen, she's pregnant, it's her issue, it's her problem, you know I'm not going to be around, this speaks to the support that you have to be there. It was easy to get her pregnant, but now comes the really hard work of being there for the lifetime of that child and doing the right thing. A major issue in our society.

BALDWIN: Dr. Jeff Gardere, got to go. Got to talk more oil, but, hey, it's Saturday night. It's memorial day weekend. Your show on VH1 is called "Dad Camp." It looks pretty interesting.

GARDERE: Yes, thank you. It debuts this Monday, May 31st, 10:30 p.m. Eastern standard time. BALDWIN: There you go. Take a breath now.

GARDERE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Dr. Jeff Gardere, thank you.

BALDWIN: As I promised our breaking news continues, news about two hours ago that the top kill procedure to stop that massive oil leak in the gulf has failed. We are with you through the evening, stay right there.

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