Letter from Senator Chuck Grassley on the Gulf Oil Spill
July 6, 2010Dear Constituent:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. As your senator, it is important for me to hear from you. Please accept my apology for the delay in my response.
I appreciate hearing your concerns about the tragic event and oil spill disaster at BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20th in the Gulf of Mexico. I share your frustration at the inability of BP and the federal response to cap the well or stop the leak. Our top priorities should be to stop the leak and implement an effective environmental and economic recovery plan.
We need to know everything we can about this disaster in order to prevent something like this from ever happening again. That's why I wrote to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking about the work of the Minerals Management Service, a bureau in the Department of the Interior, which has jurisdiction over the BP lease of a Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico and exempted BP from a safety review. I also wrote to BP, Transocean and Halliburton asking for information about communication between the companies related to the explosion and oil spill. The inquiries were part of my congressional oversight work.
On May 27th, President Obama declared an oil drilling moratorium to last for 6 months. However, on June 22nd, a federal judge halted the moratorium. The Department of Interior is appealing this decision. There needs to be assurances that offshore drilling operations are operating safely and determinations that safeguards at the federal level are adequate and being sufficiently enforced. Once we are assured that the drilling operations are safe, they should be allowed to proceed.
We also need to determine whether carelessness on behalf of the drilling owners contributed to this disaster. The fact is, BP is responsible for this spill, and there may be some evidence that regulators weren't doing what they ought to do. There's likely to be fault at many levels and ongoing investigations need to work toward establishing accountability and a clear understanding of what needs to be done to make sure future drilling is done with every possible safeguard in place.
This is the largest oil spill in U.S. history and will have environmental and economic consequences for years to come. BP is responsible for every dollar, without limitation, that it takes for recovery of the natural resources and for the environmental damage they've caused. And, while the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 caps a responsible party's economic damages liability at $75 million, BP has committed to pay all legitimate claims. I'm pleased that the company followed through on that commitment by funding a $20 billion escrow account for economic damage claims to be managed by a third party. Going forward, it's clear that Congress needs to address the cap on economic damages, and I support raising it above the current $75 million cap.
In closing, I want you to know that I believe America's energy policy needs to be a three-pronged approach. First, we need to develop traditional oil and gas resources in America in the safest possible manner. Second, we need to continue to push for more development, production and use of alternative and renewable fuels. Third, we need to conserve energy both as a nation and as individuals.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing your views and urge you to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Chuck
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Senator Chuck Grassley is the Senior Senator from Iowa. He serves on
the Finance Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Committee, the Budget
Committee and the Joint Committee on
Taxation.
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