National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, U.S. Coast Guard, and Secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Department of Interior, have been invited to address the response efforts of the devastating explosion of the Deepwater Horizon Drill Rig.

Thad Allen is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard. Allen is best known for his widely-praised performance directing the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006. Following his position as commandant, Allen continued to serve on active duty for 36 days in his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Allen officially retired from the U.S. Coast Guard on June 30, 2010, but continues to serve as a civilian as the National Incident Commander of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Ken Salazar was confirmed as the 50th secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior on Jan. 20, 2009, in a unanimous vote by the U.S. Senate. Prior to his confirmation, Salazar served as Colorado's 35th U.S. senator, winning election in November 2004 and serving on the Finance Committee, which oversees the nation's tax, trade, social-security, and health-care systems. He also served on the Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources, Ethics, Veterans Affairs and Aging Committees.

Charged with protecting America’s natural and cultural resources, the Department of the Interior and its Bureaus have been working to support the Administration’s response efforts since the tragedy first occurred by:

• Helping oversee BP’s efforts to close the leaks and clean up the oil;
• Anticipating and preparing for the worst case scenario;
• Jointly spear-heading the investigation into the event itself with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Never before have all 5 Gulf of Mexico States been involved in a single SONS-Spill of National Significance and this year’s update is critical to understand the current and future regulatory environment, as well as to learn the research developments and advancements made during the past few months by these oil spill prevention and response authorities. Hear what you need to know to conduct business in the Gulf both today and in the immediate future directly from the federal and state regulators who are responsible for implementation and enforcement.