WASHINGTON - At a committee hearing on Capitol Hill today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall discussed potential solutions from his home state of New Mexico to assist in Gulf Coast clean-up efforts following the BP oil disaster.
"Although the Gulf Coast is thousands of miles away, the disaster has impacted us all and the people and institutions in my state are anxious to help," said Udall. "From the use of our unique natural resources to remediate and absorb the toxins, to the brainpower of over 200 employees from our national labs, I am eager to see that New Mexico's ideas are explored and applied."
The Commerce Committee hearing, entitled "Turning Ideas into Action: Ensuring Effective Clean Up and Restoration in the Gulf," featured testimony from Gallup native Dennis Yellowhorse Jones.
Yellowhorse Jones is the president of U-Mate International, a company that has submitted a proposal to remediate and restore the petroleum-contaminated shorelines of the Gulf with a substance called humate, which is mined near Gallup, N.M., on the Navajo Nation.
Yellowhorse Jones testified before the committee that humate "is like a multiple vitamin for the soil." According to his company, the humate material binds to oil in soil and harbors naturally occurring microbes that biodegrade contamination.
He noted that the organic and environmentally friendly substance has been studied at the University of Oklahoma with support from the Environmental Protection Agency for the purpose of oil-contaminated soil remediation.
"It's environmentally safe, it's certified organic, it improves the soil structure and adds nutrients," he said.
Yellowhorse Jones emphasized that his organization has been working very hard to gain the attention of the Coast Guard and BP to review their proposal, which is called the ‘Organic Solution.'
He reported that their proposal is currently in the screening process by the Coast Guard.
"We consider this simple technology for a complex problem. ... We are ready, willing and able to implement this," he said.
Udall testified that he is greatly encouraged by the U-Mate proposal.
"You've put forward the idea that is really the focus of this hearing. ... It not only helps in the cleanup but it restores the environment and the ecosystem to where it was before," he told Yellowhorse Jones.
He added, "We need to find a way to take these ideas -- and take them early on -- and get them into the process so that we can have an effective cleanup."
During the hearing, Udall also highlighted other proposals originating from New Mexico, like Zeolite, a material from Sierra County.
"The Sierra County Economic Development Organization has proposed another New Mexico material called Zeolite for oil spill cleanup," he said. "Zeolite is a mineral with a number of uses, including as an absorbent for oil."
He added that many other New Mexicans have also made proposals for oil containment and skimming devices, and that New Mexico lab employees have contributed greatly through modeling, simulation, engineering, and complex risk analysis of the oil spill and various attempts to contain the spill.
See footage from the hearing below.
