Letter from Senator Harkin on the Gulf of Mexico Disaster
June 23, 2010Dear Paul:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. I sincerely appreciate hearing your views and concerns and I share your deep disappointment at this disaster and the decisions and events that led to it. I assure you I am following the developments of this crisis very closely.
On April 20, 2010, a massive blowout of oil and gas occurred at a drilling site leased by British Petroleum (BP), leading to an explosion onboard the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig owned and operated by Transocean Ltd. Haliburton also was involved as the firm responsible for crucial cement work at the drilling site. The explosion killed 11 workers, sank the rig, and caused structural damage below the surface allowing tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day to stream into the Gulf. Although BP has made several attempts to stop the gushing oil, they have not yet contained it. This is the largest oil disaster in American history and most of the oil is still underwater, yet to come to the surface or meet shorelines. The environmental and economic effects thus far are likely only a small indication of the full effects of the oil on marine environments, local economies, and human health. We will not know the extent of the damage for years, possibly decades.
There has been an unprecedented response to the disaster by the Administration, and I expect federal, state, and local agencies will continue to do everything possible to mitigate the effects. Congress too has been heavily involved, holding numerous hearings to investigate the various factors that contributed to this tragedy.
I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Congress and the Administration to thoroughly examine the decisions and actions which led up to the blowout, as well as ongoing activities to contain and clean up the oil. I will also work to see that BP, Transocean Ltd., Haliburton and any other responsible parties are held fully accountable. I believe that the current $75 million oil spill liability cap should be removed, and I recently joined 55 other senators in signing a letter to BP encouraging the company to establish a $20 billion account to be used for economic damages and clean up costs.
Additionally, we must ensure through tougher laws and regulations that such a disaster never happens again, that responsible parties adhere to those laws and regulations, and that they are prepared to swiftly respond to and contain threats to the environment should spills occur. The Administration recently took important steps in this regard when U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order to reform the Minerals Management Service, the bureau responsible for overseeing and safely developing resources in the outer continental shelf, by separating it into three entities with independent missions.
This disaster, as well as the recent explosion in the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia which claimed 29 lives, are potent reminders that our reliance on fossil fuels presents great risks to our environment and to human life. We must distance ourselves as a nation from such threats by dramatically reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels. We must move to a new energy era based on development and use of domestic renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies. I will continue to strongly promote comprehensive energy legislation to accomplish this goal.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me, and please feel free to do so in the future on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Tom Harkin
United States Senator
~ Senator Tom Harkin is the Junior Senator
from Iowa. He is
chairman of the Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee and serves on Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry, Small Business and
Entrepreneurship and Appropriations
Committees. To learn more about Senator Harkin, click here.
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