Website allows a whole new look at the Gulf oil spill (Turner)

?The number: $379,921,840.

The reason it's interesting: That's the amount of money the federal government has obligated, thus far, to Gulf oil spill contracts, according to usaspending.gov.

Now, as with all conversations about federal spending, the number needs a little context.

For example, according to the same website, the federal government obligated itself to almost $3.19 billion in "grants" to the Alabama Medicaid Agency in the 2011 fiscal year alone.

It appears that federal contracts worth in excess of $10.6 billion have been executed with Alabama entities this fiscal year alone. In Mississippi, the number is almost $6.4 billion during the same period.

But back to our oil spill contracts.

The pace of spending has fallen -- from a little over $170 million in 2010 to just under $158 million in 2011 to just more than $51 million so far this year.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the lion's share of the money -- $139.5 million, or almost 37 percent -- was spent in Louisiana. More startling, perhaps, is that more money was spent in Colorado ($28.2 million, or 7.42 percent) than in either Mississippi ($4 million, or 1.07 percent) or Alabama ($10.8 million, or 2.84 percent).

For what it's worth, Boulder-based Stratus Consulting Inc. was the big winner there. Among its several contracts was one for just over $10 million for "ongoing assessment on human use impacts from Deepwater Horizon oil spill." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used Stratus for that work, plus such services as "emergency support" during the spill and an "economic valuation" project.

It appears that litigation, or at least preparing for it, is a major Deepwater Horizon expense.

The firm that's gotten the largest number of contracts, Arlington, Va.-based CACI International Inc., offers "automated litigation support services" to the Department of Justice. It scored 40 contracts worth in excess of $38 million.

Louisiana State University has been the recipient of 21 contracts worth $1,418,273, with oil sampling and waterfowl studies among its jobs.

Almost $4 million of the money went for transportation and travel, which included lodging.

Food (and housekeeping) ate up another $2 million-plus, with $187,000 of that to "Chef Rob" in Mobile.

Of the 1,454 contracts, 518 were awarded after "full and open competition," while in 395 there was no competition at all.

So visit www.usaspending.gov. The website allows slicing and dicing of that $379,921,840 in just about every way imaginable. A few minutes there, and you'll see the spill in a whole new light.

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