After concluding their work as the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, its now former members launched the Oil Spill Commission Action project (OSCA).
In time for the two year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster (April 20, 2010), OSCA has issued a report card assessing how the US Congress, the Administration and Industry have done in implementing the Commission's Recommendations, which were published in the Commission's Final Report of January 2011. The report explains the summary grades assigned to each actor for its work to date (Congress "D", Administration "B" and Industry a "B") as follows:
"Overall, we conclude that, although much more needs to be done, the Administration and industry are undertaking important enhancements to make offshore drilling safer and to improve the nation’s ability to respond to oil spills that may occur. Unfortunately, so far, Congress has provided neither leadership nor support for these efforts."
The report assesses five categories, The Arctic among them:
Download the report...
Among the many other US resources related to the Deepwater Horizon are reports and data available from NOAA, from the Department of the Interior (and its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Deepwater Reading Room); and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Industry, NGOs and media are also marking the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon.
Notable among the coverage is American Petroleum Institute Upstream Director, Erik Milito, discussing seven lessons to be learned from the tragedy. The API is a key player in the Center for Offshore Safety. The Center was established in partial keeping with a Deepwater Commission's recommendation but, as a fully industry supported center, varies from the recommended independent status of such an organization.
Separately, Alex Chadwick is featured in a broadcast documentary Burn, about the search for oil.
Other media coverage includes:
http://www.emagazine.com/daily-news/bp-spill-two-years-after/;
The National Energy Board of Canada completed its post-Deepwater Arctic Ocean Drilling Review, issuing its report in December 2011.
In time for the two year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster (April 20, 2010), OSCA has issued a report card assessing how the US Congress, the Administration and Industry have done in implementing the Commission's Recommendations, which were published in the Commission's Final Report of January 2011. The report explains the summary grades assigned to each actor for its work to date (Congress "D", Administration "B" and Industry a "B") as follows:
"Overall, we conclude that, although much more needs to be done, the Administration and industry are undertaking important enhancements to make offshore drilling safer and to improve the nation’s ability to respond to oil spills that may occur. Unfortunately, so far, Congress has provided neither leadership nor support for these efforts."
The report assesses five categories, The Arctic among them:
"Safety and Environmental Protection(B)
Industry and most federal agencies have made or are making significant improvements in the way offshore oil operations are developed, carried out, and overseen. These hold promise but continued improvements are required, and Congress has done nothing to make permanent the improvements that have been made.
Spill Response and Containment(B-)
Industry and most federal agencies are also making significant improvements in their ability to contain and respond to offshore oil spills. The nation is certainly in a much better situation than it was two years ago. However, the efficacy of these modifications under the harsh conditions of deep water drilling still needs to be demonstrated and, again, Congress has provided little support for these efforts.
Impacts and Restoration(C)
Implementing the Commission’s recommendations on impacts and restoration is, at best, a work in progress. Though we are hopeful that the current efforts to initiate a comprehensive restoration program in the Gulf will succeed, we are discouraged by the modest steps that have been taken.
Ensuring Adequate Resources(D)
Although the Administration and Congress have provided increases in funding for the Department of the Interior to operate its regulatory programs, Congress has taken no action to make the program self-funding. Nor has Congress taken action to adjust the existing unrealistic limits on liability and response funding.
Frontier Areas—The Arctic (C)
Although there has been some progress in implementing the Commission’s recommendations concerning frontier areas, we feel strongly that additional work must be done to understand the ecosystems of the Arctic and to establish the infrastructure necessary to protect this vulnerable and valuable region."
The OSCA report is available on the group's Website: Oil Spill Commission Action.Industry and most federal agencies have made or are making significant improvements in the way offshore oil operations are developed, carried out, and overseen. These hold promise but continued improvements are required, and Congress has done nothing to make permanent the improvements that have been made.
Spill Response and Containment(B-)
Industry and most federal agencies are also making significant improvements in their ability to contain and respond to offshore oil spills. The nation is certainly in a much better situation than it was two years ago. However, the efficacy of these modifications under the harsh conditions of deep water drilling still needs to be demonstrated and, again, Congress has provided little support for these efforts.
Impacts and Restoration(C)
Implementing the Commission’s recommendations on impacts and restoration is, at best, a work in progress. Though we are hopeful that the current efforts to initiate a comprehensive restoration program in the Gulf will succeed, we are discouraged by the modest steps that have been taken.
Ensuring Adequate Resources(D)
Although the Administration and Congress have provided increases in funding for the Department of the Interior to operate its regulatory programs, Congress has taken no action to make the program self-funding. Nor has Congress taken action to adjust the existing unrealistic limits on liability and response funding.
Frontier Areas—The Arctic (C)
Although there has been some progress in implementing the Commission’s recommendations concerning frontier areas, we feel strongly that additional work must be done to understand the ecosystems of the Arctic and to establish the infrastructure necessary to protect this vulnerable and valuable region."
Download the report...
Among the many other US resources related to the Deepwater Horizon are reports and data available from NOAA, from the Department of the Interior (and its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Deepwater Reading Room); and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Industry, NGOs and media are also marking the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon.
Notable among the coverage is American Petroleum Institute Upstream Director, Erik Milito, discussing seven lessons to be learned from the tragedy. The API is a key player in the Center for Offshore Safety. The Center was established in partial keeping with a Deepwater Commission's recommendation but, as a fully industry supported center, varies from the recommended independent status of such an organization.
Separately, Alex Chadwick is featured in a broadcast documentary Burn, about the search for oil.
Other media coverage includes:
http://www.emagazine.com/daily-news/bp-spill-two-years-after/;
and
The National Energy Board of Canada completed its post-Deepwater Arctic Ocean Drilling Review, issuing its report in December 2011.
