The U.S. Senate yesterday passed the Gulf RESTORE Act, a piece of legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines for the gulf oil disaster toward restoring the gulf ecosystem and economy.
E & E Daily is reporting that backers of a bill that would send billions of dollars in Deepwater Horizon spill penalties to the Gulf Coast states affected by the spill nearly have the support they need to get a Senate vote this week.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection today announced it has completed a series of post-hurricane season beach inspections, as part of the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced yesterday morning that it will begin selling leases to allow offshore oil drilling in 38 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico. Environmental groups say the move is troubling, as regulatory oversight and environmental problems related to the catastrophic 2010 gulf oil spill haven’t yet been fully remedied.
A new report issued by The National Academy of Engineering, a government-created nonprofit, concludes that the lack of regulation and ineffective safety management practices that led to BP’s catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have not been fully remedied — leaving communities in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana potentially vulnerable to another oil spill.
New polling results reveal that 84 percent of Florida voters and 92 percent of Panhandle voters support a bill approved by a Senate committee that would ensure that BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration. The poll also showed 75 percent of Florida voters and 82 percent of Panhandle voters are more likely to support candidates who back the legislation.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force today released its final strategy for long-term ecosystem restoration for the region most affected by the 2009 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which sent more than 20 million gallons of oil into the gulf. The announcement follows extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region, and was developed following more than 40 public meetings.
According to a plan approved by the Coast Guard and obtained by the Associated Press, BP will no longer be responsible for the cleanup of any oil washing up on Gulf of Mexico shores, unless officials can prove it came from the BP well that blew out in 2010, killing 11 workers and sending more than 20 million gallons of oil into the gulf.
Several reports out today detail the bacterial infection behind a string of dolphin deaths that have occurred since last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Brucellosis, a bacterial infection, has been identified in at least five of 21 tests of stranded dolphins.
The Obama administration has approved BP’s first plan to drill for oil in the gulf since last year’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, which left 11 dead and damaged the gulf ecosystem and the economies of the states that border it. Representatives for the Gulf Restoration Network say the decision is “problematic,” considering the fact that comprehensive safety legislation has yet to be passed through Congress.
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