In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster earlier this week, a coordinated federal, state, and private response is in full swing. Governor Jindal has issued an emergency declaration for Louisiana. It is important that officials get all the resources they need to minimize the environmental and economic impacts of the spill.

Below are some resources that you can use to find opportunities to pitch in.

Volunteering

BP and the federal government have established an official hotline for volunteers at 1-866-448-5816. You can also find information on getting involved at Volunteer Louisiana, the official state website for local volunteering.

If you have a boat in Louisiana and want to help with the oil spill response, BP is telling volunteers to contact Vince Mitchell at vince.mitchell@lamor.com or 425-745-8017.

News Updates on the Response

In addition to local news sources, you can get updates on the federal response at DeepwaterHorizonResponse.com.

Updates on the state response can be found at Emergency.Louisiana.gov.

Emergency Contact Information

If you would like to report oiled wildlife, spill related damage, or oil on land, please use the following contact numbers:

• To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-866-557-1401 and leave a message. Messages will be checked hourly.

• To discuss spill related damage, please call 1-800-440-0858.

• To report oil on land or for general community and volunteer information, please call 1-866-448-5816.