RTKnet: Spills

Offshore Drilling Poised to Expand, but Transparency Still Lags (OMB Watch)

As the Obama administration increases approvals of deepwater oil drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental advocates have seen little meaningful increase in the transparency of the permitting process. A lack of transparency in the regulatory process was identified as a contributing factor in BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster and the highly criticized response effort.

(09 Mar 2011)

Gas Pipeline Emergency Plans Withheld From Public (AP - Times Union (NY))

"Emergency plans for natural gas pipelines are effectively withheld from the public and industry watchdogs because the U.S. government's pipeline safety agency itself doesn't have copies. Because the government doesn't have the plans, the public can't use the nation's open records law to request them...Officials in San Bruno and San Mateo County said PG&E didn't share its emergency plan for the pipeline with their emergency response agencies prior to the disaster. They said it is information they'd like to have."

(07 Oct 2010)

Obama Administration's Scientists Admit Alarm Over Chemicals (The Guardian (UK))

The Obama administration is facing concern from government scientists about the use of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico. Leading scientists recently wrote a letter to BP and the Obama administration asking them to release all of the scientific data related to the spill. The National Wildlife Federation explained, "Just as the unprecedented use of dispersants has served to sweep millions of gallons of oil under the rug, we're concerned the public may not get to see critical scientific data."

(05 Aug 2010)

Oil Spill Calculations Stir Debate on Damage (The New York Times)

The Obama Administration's latest report on the Deepwater Horizon cleanup efforts, which was based on modeling, was not well received by scientists or Gulf Coast residents. In reference to the report's "very generous assumptions," one University of Georgia marine scientist asserted “If an academic scientist put something like this out there, it would get torpedoed into a billion pieces." The report concluded that 26 percent of the oil, or 53 million gallons, had come ashore or has not yet degraded in the water.

(05 Aug 2010)

Much of the Oil Spill Waste Ends Up in "Communities of Color" (al.com)

According to a study by Robert Bullard of the Environmental Justice Resource Center, 61 percent of the BP oil spill cleanup waste is sent to Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi landfills where nearby residents are mainly people of color, although African Americans make up just 22 percent of the resident population in those states. Bullard asserted, "BP's colorfully advertised waste management plan appears to follow a haunting pattern of environmental racism."

(04 Aug 2010)

Despite Directive, BP Used Dispersant (The New York Times)

In a letter to retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) identified more than 74 exemption requests over 48 days, all but 10 of which were approved, in response to the Coast Guard and EPA's May 26 directive requiring that BP only apply dispersants to the ocean surface in "rare cases." Rep. Markey referred to the directive as “more of a meaningless paperwork exercise than an attempt to...eliminate surface applications of chemical dispersants.”

(03 Aug 2010)

Scientific Teams Refine Estimates of Oil Flow from BP's Well Prior to Capping (Deepwater Horizon Response)

Current estimates of the oil flow before the well was capped show that 53,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking from the well. In total, about 4.9 million barrels of oil have been released from the well, although containment efforts captured approximately 800,000 barrels prior to the capping. USGS Director Marcia McNutt asserted "The new containment cap and the well integrity testing procedures have provided new data and new opportunities to firm up some of the unknowns."

(03 Aug 2010)

EPA Releases Second Phase of Toxicity Testing Data for Oil Dispersants (EPA)

The EPA released peer-reviewed results from the second phase of its independent toxicity testing on the mixture of eight oil dispersants with Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil. EPA has concluded that the eight dispersants have similar toxicities to one another and to Corexit 9500 based on the mixtures' impacts on juvenile shrimp and small fish. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson asserted, "EPA has committed to following the science at every stage of this response."

(02 Aug 2010)

BP Lies About Drilling Mud (Mother Jones)

Although outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward alleged that the mud BP is using to seal the well in the Gulf is not toxic, a congressional investigation has revealed that the mud is a highly toxic chemical mixture containing ethylene glycol and lye. Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) asserts, "Time and time again, BP has failed to disclose critical data and information that is essential to our ability to track the long term effects of this spill."

(29 Jul 2010)