Lessons Still to Be Learned 10 Years After Deepwater Horizon Blowout: Report
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A report out today from Oceana says the feds have failed to learn from the biggest oil spill in American history - the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which took place ten years ago next week.
The Trump administration is working to expand offshore drilling, even proposing new wells off the California coast.
Diane Hoskins, campaign director at Oceana and co-author of the report, said it's not a question of if there will be another large spill, but when.
"Offshore drilling is still as dirty and dangerous as it was ten years ago," Hoskins said. "And if anything, another disaster is more likely today, as the industry drills deeper and farther offshore in much riskier places."
The administration's draft 5-year offshore energy plan would open up nearly all federal waters to new drilling. In March, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management confirmed it still is working to update the proposed 5-year plan, which has been held up by a lawsuit challenging the government's right to lift Obama-era protections for sensitive areas in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
The feds already have rolled back some of the regulations put in place after the disaster -- rules Hoskins said are crucial to prevent another blowout.
"For example, reducing the frequency and duration of testing for safety equipment, weakening onshore monitoring of particular safety equipment, and removing a requirement for an independent third party to review safety plans," she said.
Oceana is calling on the president and Congress to halt all new offshore drilling projects in federal waters and invest more in renewable energy.
