The Modern Independent

Congressional Action Required After Oil Spill in Gulf Represents the Worst Environmental Disaster in Decades

As I sit here writing this post, a major oil well fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana, which is being dubbed the Deepwater Horizon disaster, is releasing 5,000 barrels (200,000 gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico a day, and officials are saying that it could take up to 90 days to stop it.  The spill, which occurred after an oil rig owned by British Petroleum exploded last week, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more, will hit the gulf coast as early as early Friday morning, and it risks affecting the coastline of five states.

According to the Washington Post, the spill represents the worst environmental disaster in decades and the absolute worst oil spill in U.S. History:

An oil spill that threatened to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez disaster spread out of control with a faint sheen washing ashore along the Gulf Coast Thursday night as fishermen rushed to scoop up shrimp and crews spread floating barriers around marshes….

The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life. Thicker oil was in waters south and east of the Mississippi delta about five miles offshore.

The New York Times is reporting that the accident could cost, according to BP’s estimates, several hundred million dollars in clean-up costs, but others are speculating the cost in the billions. And that says nothing of the losses the British Company is taking in the financial markets.  The Times observes:

The magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon disaster seems to be finally sinking in with investors. BP’s stock plunged more than 8 percent Thursday in American trading in an otherwise strong day for stocks. Since the accident, the American depositary receipts of the company have fallen about 13 percent, closing Thursday at $52.56.

For Tony Hayward, who has led BP for the last three years, the accident threatens to overshadow all of the efforts he has made to burnish the tattered reputation of the company after a refinery explosion in Texas in 2005 and a pipeline leak in Alaska in 2006.

BP’s financial beating is only the beginning of the problems the company is facing in light of this monumental ecological disaster. The spill threatens to devastate the fishing industry along the Gulf coast, especially for oyster and shrimp fishing.  Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has declared a state of emergency so that the state can prepare for the spill’s fallout, and President Obama has called it an event of ‘national significance.’

As such, the fallout will no doubt spread to Washington as lawmakers begin contemplating a legislative response to the disaster.  The Wall Street Journal writes that:

The chief executive of BP PLC said in an interview Thursday he expects a tougher regime for oil companies as a consequence of the spill. BP hired the rig that caught fire and sank, resulting in the spill.

"Regulators will want to understand how this occurred and quite reasonably wish to introduce additional regulation, if that's appropriate, to prevent it happening again," Chief Executive Tony Hayward told The Wall Street Journal. "You certainly won't see BP standing in the way of that."

Asked whether the spill could prompt calls for a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, he said: "I'm certain some people are thinking that might be necessary…."

Mr. Hayward said any investigation would focus on why the failsafe mechanisms for the well's shut-off system, known as a blowout preventer, weren't activated. He said regulation of the blowout preventers would likely be tightened and a tougher testing regime introduced.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the doomed rig lacked a remote-control shutoff device commonly used in other major offshore oil-producing nations.

BP is bracing itself for a rough ride on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers prepare to grill the company on its response to the spill. The company has pledged to cooperate with a joint probe launched by the Department of the Interior and Department of Homeland Security, and it has initiated its own investigation.

Moreover, Congressman Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is demanding documents from BP and its drilling contractors in what looks likely to be a full-blown investigation. “A striking feature of the incident is the apparent lack of an adequate plan to contain the spreading environmental damage,” he said in a letter to company officials, according to the New York Times.

According to the White House, President Obama doesn't plan to back away from his proposal to allow more oil exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, nor does he intend to withhold considering opening areas along the Atlantic Seaboard.  Expanding coastal drilling was part of a broader effort by the administration to woo Republicans and skeptical Democrats to support his efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and pass a comprehensive climate change bill. 

Given the tone of the GOP minority in Congress, however, and the almost allergic reaction they have toward any kind of legislative cooperation; and given the profound impact of this ecological holocaust in the Gulf of Mexico, and the systemic uncertainties that lie ahead; I can’t help but think that the administration’s refusal to re-evaluate its position is a tragic mistake on not only a policy level, but a political one as well.  This is just one more reason why we need great investment in green energy technologies and why we need to ween ourselves off of our dangerous addiction to oil. 

Indeed, Congressional action is a must, and I implore not only the Obama administration and Mr. Waxman of the Energy and Commerce committee, but the Democrats in the Colorado congressional delegation (Diana DeGette, Betsy Markey, Jared Polis, John Salazar, Ed Perlmutter), as well as Senators Udall and Bennet to take the lead on this issue in the name of environmental stewardship, national and economic security, and for the sake of our posterity.

After this disaster, I wonder how many people will still be chanting, “drill, baby, drill?” 

About Ryan Dawkins

graduated Summa Cum Laude with bachelor degrees in Political Science and History, and a masters degree in American History.