Jackson Free Press

Read BP's letter to the Environmental Protection Agency

Gulfport resident Linda St. Martin said yesterday that people in the area are reporting sightings of oil droplets in Mississippi water, and that charter boats are ushering tourists out into the Gulf to take what could be a sad, final look at unsoiled Gulf waters.

"We're hosting trips out to the Barrier Islands so people can get a look at them before the oil hits them and they're ruined, possibly for years," Martin said. "We just don't have high hopes for this area."

MIke Johnson, National Park Service information officer with the Gulf Islands National Seashore confirmed that there had been signs of the oil in the water.

"To date, we've only had reports of tar balls, oily debris and some oiled wildlife observed and found within the seashore," Johnson said.

Frustration continues to mount as oil erupts from the sea floor, as a result of the April 20 explosion of a British Petroleum deep-water oil rig, and continues to spread onto Louisiana beaches. BP said it is doing all it can to end the disaster, announcing today in a press release that it is moving forward on a plan to inject "heavy drilling fluids," into the well with a prediction of beginning the attempt within "the next few days."

The company admits that it has never attempted this procedure at the depth of the geyser, which is at 5,000 feet, a mile under the water, but that most of the equipment for the attempt was already on site and in preparation to go.

In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency and BP have entered into a sparring match over BP's use of the oil dispersant Corexit, which EPA determines to be toxic when mixed with oil. Last Wednesday, the EPA instructed BP to stop the use of the chemical by Sunday, or report back with a list of researched alternatives and why they wouldn't work, The New York Times reported yesterday. The company responded Friday by advocating the use of Corexit in a letter, saying the chemical tends to break down within 28 days. The letter also states that other chemicals are actually more harmful to the environment.

"BP does not have a stockpile of the other dispersants that meet the criteria in the May 19 directive, and the manufacturers tell us that they cannot produce the requested volume for 10 to 14 days or more," said BP exploration division President Douglas Suttles in statement.

In Washington, Congress has been unsuccessful in passing a bill submitted by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to raise oil companies' liability damage cap from $75 million up to $10 billion--even as oil spreads across the Gulf. Republican Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski led a May 13 block on the bill, while Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe blocked the bill on May 18, both arguing that the cap would be so cost-prohibitive that smaller oil companies would no longer be able to afford to drill.

Mississippi U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor is supporting a liability cap. Taylor, arguably one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, said at a panel discussion last night in Gulport that the current cap needs to reflect the degree of potential damage as represented by the BP geyser.

"Obviously we have to make those changes to reflect the true cost of this clean-up and the impact it's going to have on the people of the Gulf Coast," Taylor said.

He added, however, that the disaster should not discourage the nation's attempt to gain fuel independence through domestic offshore drilling: "We need to take steps to see to it that this never happens again, but we don't need to overreact about drilling offshore," Taylor said.

Previous Comments

ID

157953

Comment

FADE IN: BP Emergency Response Boardroom EXECUTIVE #1 Lets build a gazillion dollar humongous box and drop it on top! GROUP OF EXECUTIVE CRONIES Great idea! You're brilliant! Brightest we have! You da' man! EXECUTIVE #1 I need a latte, and a nap. So stressed... TIME CUT- TWO WEEKS LATER- EXECUTIVE #1 (whiney) I could have sworn that would work GROUP OF EXECUTIVE CRONIES Good try boss! Not your fault! We are working a mile under water here! It was a pretty box! EXECUTIVE #2 (sipping from a starbucks cup) I'VE GOT IT! We can stick a big pipe down there like this here straw and suck it all out!! GROUP OF EXECUTIVE CRONIES Great idea! You're brilliant! Brightest we have! You da' man! TIME CUT- TWO WEEKS LATER- EXECUTIVE #2 (pouting) Well it kinda worked. We were able to salvage some of our oil! EXECUTIVE #1 Wonder what they did with the box....my kids need a new playhouse EXECUTIVE #3 (pointing at #2) Your straw wasn't big enough. BICKERING ENSUES SCIENTIST #1 Lets just dump some of that heavy drilling fluid in it and be done with this nonsense. That Obama chap is getting pissy. BLANK STARES EXECUTIVE #1, 2, & 3 (simultaneously) What about our oil? I dunno if that will work. Ouch! I got a papercut! TIME CUT- TWO WEEKS LATER- BLANK STARES HEAD EXECUTIVE You guys couldn't come up with anything good. Obama kicked us out. GROUP OF EXECUTIVE CRONIES Thats ok boss! Better luck next time! We were rooting for ya! Those meanies... FADE CUT: Special Government Emergency Boardroom GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL #1 Did someone order lattes? GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL #2 Anyone got a plan? GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST #1 Maybe we could build a box and drop it on top....like a funnel.... BLANK STARES

Author

SELock

Date

2010-05-25T15:58:30-06:00