Page 1 47 of 1000 DOCUMENTS NBC News Transcripts July 2, 2010 Friday SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC Cleaning up gulf oil spill in the wake of Hurricane Alex ANCHORS: KATE SNOW REPORTERS: ANNE THOMPSON LENGTH: 377 words KATE SNOW, anchor: Now to the gulf oil spill. In the wake of Hurricane Alex, officials are getting their first close look at the damage from the storm and the possible long-term effects. NBC New chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson joins us again tonight from Venice, Louisiana. Good evening, Anne. ANNE THOMPSON reporting: Good evening, Kate. After three days of being stuck onshore, today the cleanup crews went back to work. But following a storm like Alex, this was a day to rebuild and repair the defenses against the oil. As the flotilla of fishing boats re- turned to clean up and protect Louisiana's shoreline... Commander CLAUDIA GELZER: We're still dealing with some high seas out there. THOMPSON: ...from above, Coast Guard Commander Claudia Gelzer assessed the damage done by this week's storm. Cmdr. GELZER: Our battle's out here, not there. THOMPSON: With Fred Lemond of BP, they lead the response in Plaquemines Parish. At Breton Island, a refuge for pelicans and turns, boom lay scattered by the winds and waves. So this should all be connected? Cmdr. GELZER: Yes, ma'am. THOMPSON: And the storm separated it? Mr. FRED LEMOND: That is correct. THOMPSON: In parts of the Delta National Wildlife Refuge the storm forced boom into the marsh. But in many areas, the defenses held. How did you come through the storm? Cmdr. GELZER: I think it's not as bad as it could have been, but we got our work cut out for us. We really do. THOMPSON: She is not breathing easy. Cmdr. GELZER: Dodging a bullet is--it's like the caliber size of the bullet, because I think there's other bullets coming our way with the--with the way the weather patterns are here. Page 2 Cleaning up gulf oil spill in the wake of Hurricane Alex NBC News Transcripts July 2, 2010 Friday THOMPSON: Patterns that could create problems for other parts of the South. New models from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that by day 120, there is a 61 to 80 percent chance oil carried by the loop current could be in the Florida Keys, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. While the probability is high, the government says if the oil does reach the Keys and then the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, that it will not come in the form of a slick, but rather in tar balls because it will have spent so much time in the water. Kate: SNOW: None of that good news. Anne Thompson, thanks so much. LOAD-DATE: July 2, 2010 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DOCUMENT-TYPE: Newscast PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript Copyright 2010 National Broadcasting Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved Page 3 51 of 1000 DOCUMENTS NBC News Transcripts August 9, 2010 Monday SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC BP's cost for gulf oil spill now exceeds $6 billion ANCHORS: ANN CURRY LENGTH: 53 words ANN CURRY, anchor: BP said today the cost of its response to the gulf oil spill has now exceeded $6 billion. The expenses included the static kill and cementing operation that stopped the oil spill and the drilling of the relief well. That operation could be com- pleted by the end of this week and seal the well for good. LOAD-DATE: August 9, 2010 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DOCUMENT-TYPE: Newscast PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript Copyright 2010 National Broadcasting Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved Page 4 55 of 1000 DOCUMENTS NBC News Transcripts May 20, 2010 Thursday SHOW: Today 7:00 AM EST NBC More concerns over how the Gulf oil spill will affect wildlife and vegetation REPORTERS: NATALIE MORALES LENGTH: 56 words NATALIE MORALES reporting: There are growing concerns this morning about the effect of the Gulf oil spill on wildlife and vegetation. Large patches of heavy oil have washed up on Louisiana's coastal marshes. Meantime, National Geographic released dramatic new video this morning of the horrific fire aboard the oil rig that took 11 lives. LOAD-DATE: May 20, 2010 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DOCUMENT-TYPE: Newscast PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript Copyright 2010 National Broadcasting Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved Page 5 59 of 1000 DOCUMENTS NBC News Transcripts July 11, 2010 Sunday SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC Kenneth Feinberg providing compensation for victims of the gulf oil spill with BP's Victims Compensation Fund ANCHORS: LESTER HOLT LENGTH: 145 words LESTER HOLT, anchor: The man in charge of providing compensation for victims of the gulf oil spill told us today he's ready to give those eli- gible a full six months worth of emergency payments on a single request. Ken Feinberg is overseeing the $20 billion fund that BP established under pressure from the White House. He says he's doing everything he can to make sure people get help fast. Mr. KENNETH FEINBERG (Victims Compensation Fund Administrator): File a claim. Get an emergency payment of up to six months with no obligation whatsoever on your part other than to corroborate your claim. And after that, we'll offer you quickly an accelerated lump sum settlement payment for all of your injuries, for all of your claims. HOLT: Feinberg says until the oil stops spilling into the gulf, he won't know if the $20 billion fund is big enough to pay all legitimate claims. LOAD-DATE: July 11, 2010 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DOCUMENT-TYPE: Newscast PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript Copyright 2010 National Broadcasting Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved Page 6 400 of 1000 DOCUMENTS NBC News Transcripts August 17, 2010 Tuesday SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC Gulf oil spill oil may not be as dissipated as previously thought ANCHORS: BRIAN WILLIAMS REPORTERS: ANNE THOMPSON LENGTH: 540 words BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: We're going to begin here tonight in the Gulf of Mexico, specifically with a reality check on just how much of the oil released into the water from that BP Deepwater Horizon well is still there. As you may know, the government's been reporting that only about 25 percent of the oil from that spill remains. But is that at all accurate, and, in plane English, did anybody really think 90 days worth of crude oil was just somehow slowly vanishing? Our chief environmental af- fairs correspondent Anne Thompson is in Venice, Louisiana, for us once again tonight. Anne, good evening. ANNE THOMPSON reporting: Good evening, Brian. You know, at the heart this is a numbers game. And all sides on this issue admit no one knows for sure exactly how much oil is left in the Gulf of Mexico, but tonight there are clues about where some of it has gone. Pictures of an increasingly blue gulf seem to support this Obama administration claim two weeks ago. Ms. JANE LUBCHENCO (NOAA Administrator): (From August 4th) The vast majority of the oil has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed and recovered from the well head or dispersed. Mr. CHARLES HOPKINSON (University of Georgia): And that leaves, you know, 70 to 79 percent. THOMPSON: But today, researchers from the University of Georgia say their calculations don't support that conclu- sion, in part because they claim oil doesn't break down that fast. Mr. HOPKINSON: The idea that 75 percent of the oil is gone and is of no further concern to the environment is just absolutely incorrect. THOMPSON: The Georgia group insists more than half the oil spill, from 2.9 to 3.2 million barrels, is still in the gulf, far more than the nearly 1.3 million barrels the government estimates. Today in a statement, the government defended its oil budget, saying it was based on, quote, "direct measurements whenever possible, and the best available scientific estimates where direct measurements were not possible." So where is the oil? Researchers from the University of South Florida say they found some of it in microscopic droplets, underneath the surface and on the floor of the gulf, in far larger quantities than anticipated and in an area they didn't expect. Mr. JOHN PAUL (University of South Florida): We were surprised at how far east the oil had gotten, because this was about 40 miles from the Pensacola area. THOMPSON: Even though you can't see it, the unseen oil is still a threat. Not directly to people, but to the very basic elements of the food chain. Page 7 Gulf oil spill oil may not be as dissipated as previously thought NBC News Transcripts August 17, 2010 Tuesday Mr. BOB KIBLER: These are all identified. THOMPSON: Researcher Bob Kibler found benzine levels of up to 1,000 times higher than allowed in the mud of Lou- isiana's Four Bayou Pass, an area that nurtures a variety of living creatures. Things such as? Mr. KIBLER: Such as the small plankton, the small bacteria that are taken up by the oysters, that are taken up by the shrimp, and eventually work their way up the food chain. THOMPSON: And that's what concerns both independent scientists and the government alike, that no matter how you calculate the oil budget, that the true impact of this spill won't be known for years to come. Brian: WILLIAMS: Anne Thompson starting us off once again from Venice, Louisiana, tonight. Anne, thanks. LOAD-DATE: August 17, 2010 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH DOCUMENT-TYPE: Newscast PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript Copyright 2010 National Broadcasting Co.