Dean Blanchard

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. All week long on The Takeaway, we'll be speaking to residents of the Gulf region whose lives, businesses and communities were profoundly impacted by the oil gusher that followed the explosion. Dean Blanchard owns a wholesale seafood wholesaling business in Grand Isle, Louisiana and was a frequent guest to the Takeaway in the days and weeks immediately following the Gulf Oil Spill. He endured a blow to his business, a layoff of 65 employees, and has endured a long wait to settle a claim with BP.

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from the past year about the year that was, and what they foresee in the year ahead.

Today: a conversation about the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry…the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which leaked over 205 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf this past spring and summer. The leaking oilhead was capped in July: how are people in Gulf states doing today?

BP has pledged to give $20 billion in compensation to victims of the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil gusher. So far, $300 million has been distributed, but many are concerned that some portion of this money has gone to people scamming the system.

BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster hits the two month mark this weekend. Since April 20, oil has been gushing into the Gulf, wreaking havoc on the thousands who make a living from those waters. Natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, leave residents devastated but able to begin repair once the crisis passes. The current nightmare has lasted two months, and the oil already in the Gulf will cause longterm environmental damage even once the well is capped. What kind of toll do these unknowns take on people's mental health?

In a Saturday radio address from Grand Isle, La., President Obama promised to "stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until they are made whole."  Making the gulf coast whole, so far, is taking a lot of manpower: 17,500 National Guard troops deployed to aid in the response; 20,000 people cleaning shorelines and beaches; and more than 1,900 vessels laying boom in the gulf. The cleanup may bring a surge of temporary work, but residents of the Gulf Coast worry that the boom will be temporary at best.

Internal documents released to The New York Times last week show that BP reported problems mid-March with the undersea well that exploded a month later. However, the company delayed the testing of a critical piece of equipment – the well’s blowout preventer. And some BP engineers expressed concerns about the oil rig's safety as far back as 11 months ago.

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar warned that it could take up to 90 days before an ultimate solution is put in place which could stop the oil still leaking off the coast of Louisiana.