Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Bob Papp is in Alaska. He arrived along with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who left Wednesday. But the Commandant remains in Barrow, looking into what sort of installation the Coast Guard might put there, now that the Interior Department has awarded the permits for Shell to drill in the Beaufort Sea.
The Admiral said they will need to have a search and rescue presence on the North Slope.
A top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is coming along with Papp, and he said he’ll be conferring with Congress members, including both of Alaska’s Senator, about how to get the resources the Coast Guard is going to need.
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Brianna Gibbs is a reporter at KMXT in Kodiak.
