In news on the BP oil spill, Coast Guard Commander Thad Allen said it will take until at least the fall to deal with the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Allen appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.

Thad Allen: “This will only end when we intercept the well bore, pump mud down it to overcome the pressure of the oil coming up from the reservoir, and put a cement plug in. That’s what I would call bottom kill rather than top kill. The spill will not be contained until that happens. But even after that, there will be oil out there for months to come. This will be well into the fall. This is a siege across the entire Gulf. This spill is holding everybody hostage, not only economically, but physically. And it has to be attacked on all fronts.”

Bob Schieffer: “So, well into the fall.”

Thad Allen: “As far as oil remediation and long-term environmental impacts, yes.”

Since the spill began nearly seven weeks ago, roughly 23 million to 49 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf.