Reports that Matter

Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling

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Section 28 of 28

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  1. 1 John Guide (BP), interview with Commission staff, September 17, 2010.
  2. 1 Brady Dennis and Shailagh Murray, "GOP Changes Tone on Financial Bill," Washington Post, April 21, 2010; Edward Wyatt and David M. Herszenhorn, "Bill on Finance Wins Approval of Senate Panel," New York Times, April 22, 2010; Jim Puzzanghera, "In N.Y., Obama to Push for Financial Overhaul," Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2010; Adam Liptak, "Justices Reject Ban on Depicting Animal Cruelty," New York Times, April 21, 2010; Joan Biskupic, "High Court Negates Animal Cruelty Law as Too Broad, 8-1" USA Today, April 21, 2010; Jess Bravin, "Court Voids Law on Animal Cruelty," Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2010; Bart Barnes, "A Movement's Matriarch," Washington Post, April 21, 2010; Andrew Zajac and Melissa Healy, "FDA Puts the Pinch on Salt," Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2010.
  3. 1 President Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill" (June 15, 2010) http://www. whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-nation-bp-oil-spill].
  4. 1 Magne Ognedal, "Thirty years since Kielland – why are major accidents still happening?" (speech, Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway, August 27, 2010) 3, http://www.ptil.no/major-accidents/safety-lunch-at-ons-risk-of-a- major-accident-is-always-present-article7202-144.html.
  5. 1 Exec. Order No. 13543, 75 Fed. Reg. 29,397 (May 21, 2010).
  6. 2 See 43 U.S.C. § 1337(b)(6) ("An oil and gas lease issued pursuant to this section shall . . . contain such rental and other provisions as the Secretary may prescribe at the time of offering the area for lease.").
  7. 3 These terms are taken directly from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.28. 4 40 C.F.R. §1508.4.
  8. 4 Testimony of Timothy Ragen, Executive Director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, "The Short and Long- Term Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill," Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife, 111th Congress (June 10, 2010); Kim B. Ritchie and Brian D. Keller, eds., A Scientific Forum on the Gulf of Mexico: The Islands in the Stream Concept (NOAA, January 23, 2008), 6–8; Elliott A. Norse and John Amos, "Impacts, Perception, and Policy Implications of the Deepwater Horizon Oil and Gas Disaster," Environmental Law Reporter 40, no. 11 (2010): 11071; Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Scientific Symposium Meeting Summary (Consortium for Ocean Leadership, June 23, 2010), 15–16.
  9. 4 Ibid.
  10. 5 U.S. Department of the Interior, "Statement by Secretary of the Interior James Watt Instituting Changes in the Mineral Royalty Management Program – July 21, 1982," Commission on Fiscal Accountability of the Nation's Energy Resources: Subject Files, 1981–1982, RG 48, Entry 994, Box 1 (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC).
  11. 5 Internal BP document (BP-HZN-MBI 126338).
  12. 5 Jervis, "Gulf Blast Appears to be 'Blowout.'"
  13. 5 Federal Interagency Solutions Group, Oil Budget Science and Engineering Team, Oil Budget Calculator Technical Documentation (November 2010).
  14. 5 Ibid.
  15. 5 A "Development Operations Coordination Document" in the Gulf of Mexico is functionally the same as a "Development and Production Plan" in other LES regions.
  16. 6 U.S. Constitution, Art IV, § 3, cl. 2.
  17. 6 Ibid.
  18. 6 Richard Fausset, "Oil Rig Explodes; 11 Missing," Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2010. 7 40 C.F.R. § 300, Subpart D.
  19. 6 Curtis Morgan, "Another sign of oil spill recovery in the Gulf: Oil in the Gulf has dissipated and degraded into barely detectable concentrations, although federal scientists say it's too soon to say the threat is over," Miami Herald,
  20. 6 Health and Safety Executive, BP Grangemouth Executive Summary—Findings and Recommendations, http://www. hse.gov.uk/comah/bpgrange/execsumm/findings.htm.
  21. 6 Press Release, Department of the Interior, Categorical Exclusions for Gulf Offshore Activity to be Limited While Interior Reviews NEPA Process and Develops Revised Policy, August 16, 2010,
  22. 7 Ibid. Three companies own the Macondo well. BP has a 65 percent share, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has a 25 percent share, and MOEX Offshore has a 10 percent share. BP maintained regular contact with Anadarko and MOEX throughout the drilling of the well.
  23. 7 Andrew B. Wilson, "BP's Disaster: No Surprise to Folks in the Know," CBS, June 22, 2010, http://www.cbsnews.com/ stories/2010/06/22/opinion/main6605248.shtml.
  24. 7 Minerals Management Service, MMS 2007-018 Gulf of Mexico OSC Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2007-2010 Final Environmental Impact Statement (April 2007), Volume I, 2-3 to 2-5.
  25. 8 Utah Power & Light Co. v. United States, 243 U.S. 389, 405 (1917); Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. at 540 ("Congress exercises the powers of both a proprietor and of a legislature over the public domain.").
  26. 8 Internal Transocean documents (TRN-USCG-MMS 11600, 11605, 11609, 11613, 11617, 11621, 11625).
  27. 8 Paul Purpura et al., "Search continues for 11 missing in rig blast," Times-Picayune, April 22, 2010.
  28. 8 Jan Erik Vinnem, Offshore Risk Assessment: Principles, Modelling and Applications of QRA Studies, Second Edition (London: Springer Studies in Reliability Engineering, 2007), 91, 100, 102.
  29. 8 Minerals Management Service, MMS 2007-026 Chukchi Sea Planning Area Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193 and Seismic Surveying Activities in the Chukchi Sea Final Environmental Impact Statement (May 2007), Volume I, 1.
  30. 9 Paul Rioux and Chris Kirkham, "Search for 11 Workers Missing After Oil Rig Explosion Is Expected To Be Called Off Friday," Times-Picayune, April 22, 2010.
  31. 9 Department of Interior, Department Manual Part 516: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (September 2009), 3.4.
  32. 10 Testimony of Captain James Hanzalik, Hearing Before the Deepwater Joint Investigation Team, October 4, 2010, 29- 30.
  33. 10 Government Accountability Office, GAO-10-276 Offshore Oil and Gas Development: Additional Guidance Would Help Strengthen the Minerals Management Service's Assessment of Environmental Impacts in the North Aleutian Basin (March 2010), 21.
  34. 13 Commission staff analysis of MMS yearly budget request and enactments, by nominal and real (2005) dollars. Bu- reau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Administration and Budget: Budget Division, http://www.boemre.gov/ adm/budget.html; Herbert Kaufman and Cheryl Anderson, Department of the Interior, OCS Environmental Studies Contract Projects—Fiscals Years 1973 through 1983 (DOI Minerals Management Service Branch of Environmental Studies, December 1983), II-8. 14 33 U.S.C. § 1321(j)(5)(D)(i); 40 C.F.R. § 300.211. 15 30 C.F.R. § 254.2(a). 16 30 C.F.R. § 254.126 17 40 C.F.R. § 300.322 18 23 U.S.C. § 125.
  35. 82 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, Science Panel, http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/people/sp.cfm.
  36. 83 Joe Hunt, Mission Without a Map: The Politics and Policies of Restoration Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: 1989- 2002, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (Anchorage, 2009): 156-157.
  37. 85 President Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill" (June 15, 2010), http://www. whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-nation-bp-oil-spill.
  38. 89 Ibid., 21:01.
  39. 89 Samuel K. Skinner and William K. Reilly, The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Report to the President (May 1989), 1.
  40. 95 Ibid.
  41. 96 Ibid.
  42. 100 "Shell 'Ignored Accident Warning.'"
  43. 101 Shell, Sustainability Report 2009, 16–17, http://sustainabilityreport.shell.com/2009/servicepages/downloads/files/ all_shell_sr09.pdf.
  44. 103 Ibid., 2010, 21:17–21:18.
  45. 103 Ibid.
  46. 104 Ibid.
  47. 106 Ibid.
  48. 108 Ibid.
  49. 110 Ibid., 33.
  50. 125 Lee Gard, interview.
  51. 139 Ibid., 53
  52. 158 Rees, Hostages of Each Other: The Transformation of Nuclear Safety Since Three Mile Island, 96–97.
  53. 171 Testimony of Michael Bromwich, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior, Hearing before the National Commission, November 9, 2010, 228.
  54. 172 Testimony of Rex Tillerson, Hearing before the National Commission, November 9, 2010, 250–52; Testimony of Marvin Odum, Hearing before the National Commission, November 9, 2010, 278–79. 173 30 C.F.R. § 250.1721(d). 174 30 C.F.R. § 250.141(a).
  55. 172 Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf – Safety and Environmental Management Sys- tems, 75 Fed. Reg. 199 (October 15, 2010).
  56. 173 National Commission Staff, "Response/Clean-Up Technology Research & Development and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill," (staff working paper, 2010)
  57. 174 Angel Gonzalez, "Oil Firms Plan Rapid-Response Force," Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2010; Daniel Squire, e-mail message to Commission staff, December 1, 2010.
  58. 175 Testimony of Capt. Alwin Landry, 112.
  59. 175 Internal BP document (BP-HZN-OSC 1436).
  60. 175 Marine Well Containment Company, "Industry Initiatives to Ensure Safe, Protective Drilling Practices in the Deepwa- ter Gulf of Mexico: The Marine Well Containment System" (presentation, Washington, D.C., September 2010).
  61. 176 Marine Well Containment Company, "About Us," http://www.marinewellcontainment.com/index.php.
  62. 178 Independent Deepwater Exploration Coalition, meeting with Commission staff, November, 29, 2010.
  63. 179 "Moody's Offshore drilling insurance rates to jump," BusinessWeek, June 4, 2010.
  64. 180 Paul Rioux, "President Barack Obama in Grand Isle after Touring Beach in Port Fourchon," Times-Picayune, May 28, 2010.
  65. 180 Julia Kollewe, "Oil Industry Set for Surge in Insurance Premiums after Deepwater Disaster," The Guardian, Septem- ber 20, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/20/deepwater-oil-rigs-insurance-costs.
  66. 182 Walsh, "Forced to Become Emergency Workers, Fishermen Say BP Never Even Said Thanks."
  67. 182 Interview with Coast Guard official, August 26, 2010; Interview with Coast Guard official, September 2, 2010; Non-public Coast Guard document, June 14, 2010.
  68. 185 Executive Order No. 13543, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, 75 Fed. Reg. 29,397, May 21, 2010.
  69. 186 Peter Baker, "Obama Extends Moratorium; Agency Chief Resigns," New York Times, May 27, 2010.
  70. 186 CLEAR Act, H.R. 3534, 111th Cong. § 702 (2010) (as passed by House); S. 3663, 111th Cong. §102 (2010)("Reid Clean Energy bill"); RESPOND Act, S. 3763, 111th Cong. § 6 (2010)("Landrieu bill"); Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act, H.R. 5214, 111th Cong. § 2 (2010).
  71. 188 Mike Allen, "Gulf Commander to Begin Solo Briefings," Politico, May 31, 2010.
  72. 188 Graeme Wearden, "BP oil spill costs to hit $40bn," The Guardian, November 2, 2010 ($39.9 billion estimated costs); 33 U.S.C. §2716 (maximum required financial responsibility for offshore facilities is $150 million).
  73. 189 Rawle King, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster: Risk, Recovery, and Insurance Implications (Congressional Re- search Service, July 12, 2010), 16–18.
  74. 864 to 41 in the span of one year.
  75. 190 Interview with NOAA officials, November 18, 2010.
  76. 190 Press Release, Munich Re, Munich Re Develops New Insurance Solution for Oil Catastrophes, September 12, 2010, http://www.munichre.com/en/media_relations/press_releases/2010/2010_09_12_press_release.aspx; Munich Re executives, telephone interview with Commission staff, September 17, 2010.
  77. 196 Craig Pittman and Rebecca Catalanello, "BP Plan to Protect Florida From Oil Spill Inadequate, Officials Say," St. Petersburg Times, May 3, 2010.
  78. 198 Non-public Coast Guard document, October 12, 2010.
  79. 198 One Hundred Years of Solitude (García Márquez), 53 OPEC oil embargo (1973), 31, 56, 296 Orca Energy (Dunhill), 227 Oregon, offshore oil and gas industry in, 26, 67, 297 Oryx Energy, 43, 226 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and Amendments (1953/1978), 23, 30, 57–64, 79, 80, 84, 254–56, 262–64 Outer Continental Shelf Safety Oversight Board, 78–79, 78n, 82 Overton, Keith, 191 oysters, in Gulf of Mexico, 140, 163, 176, 178–79, 186–87 Paradis, Joseph, 130 Parish Presidents (Louisiana), 139–40, 154 Patzek, Tad, 229 Pemex, 254, 300 Pennsylvania, oil and gas industry in, 296 Pennzoil, 32 Perdido site, 51
  80. 202 Angel Gonzalez, "Locals to BP: Don't Leave Town Yet," Wall Street Journal, Aug. 1, 2010; Interview with Coast Guard official, August 26, 2010.
  81. 213 Agency comments were compiled by the Army Corps of Engineers at http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/news/ Emergency%20Permit%20Documents%20Compressed%20FINAL.pdf.
  82. 214 Transcript, Press Briefing by National Incident Commander, June 2, 2010.
  83. 215 Press Release, Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center, Admiral Allen Approves One Section of Louisi- ana Barrier Island Project Proposal as Part of Federal Oil Spill Response, May 27, 2010.
  84. 216 NIC Decision Support Document Regarding Barrier Island Proposal Based Upon Interagency Solutions Group Dis- cussion and Army Corps of Engineers NOD 20 Permit Discussions, May 17, 2010; Draft, Berm Construction and Spill Response, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 19, 2010; Berm Construction and Spill Response, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 25, 2010.
  85. 217 Admiral Thad Allen, e-mail to Captain Mike White, May 22, 2010.
  86. 221 Transcript, Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees, "BP Cleanup Sham; President Obama Visits Louisiana; Oystermen in Jeopardy," CNN, May 28, 2010.
  87. 232 Sean Smith, e-mail to Juliette Kayyem, Department of Homeland Security, May 27, 2010.
  88. 236 Tooms, interview; Non-public BP document, May 31, 2010.
  89. 239 Interview with Coast Guard official, October 18, 2010; Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010.
  90. 245 Lynch, interview.
  91. 248 "BP Chief Hopes Cap Will Capture Most of Gulf Oil," Reuters, June 6, 2010.
  92. 249 Doug Suttles, letter to Admiral James Watson, June 9, 2010 (suggesting that with the Clear Leader attached to the kill line, BP could collect 5-10,000 barrels per day).
  93. 259 Charles Huber, e-mail to Commander William Carter and Captain Roger Laferriere, July 13, 2010.
  94. 260 Mathy Stanislaus, e-mail to Admiral Paul Zukunft, July 13, 2010.
  95. 262 EPA, "July 11-14 Dispersant Request Summary," (provided to Commission staff October 21, 2010).
  96. 266 Interview with U.S. Department of Energy official, November 8, 2010.
  97. 267 Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010.
  98. 269 Interview with U.S. Department of Energy official, November 8, 2010.
  99. 273 Suttles, interview; Tooms, interview.
  100. 277 Suttles, interview.
  101. 283 Admiral Thad Allen, letter to Bob Dudley, July 14, 2010.
  102. 284 Interviews with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 20, 2010; Non-public U.S. Department of Energy docu- ment, July 11, 2010.
  103. 285 Non-public government document, July 11, 2010; Interview with U.S. Department of Energy official, October 25, 2010.
  104. 286 Campbell Robertson and Henry Fountain, "BP Says Oil Flow Has Stopped as Cap Is Tested," New York Times, July 15, 2010.
  105. 291 Non-public U.S. Department of Energy document, June 30, 2010.
  106. 292 Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010; Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010.
  107. 293 Tooms, interview; Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010; Interview with U.S. Geological Survey official, October 21, 2010.
  108. 299 Press Release, BP, Static Kill Injectivity Testing Commences on MC252 Well, August 3, 2010; Non-public U.S. Depart- ment of Energy document, August 3, 2010.
  109. 307 Margaret Spring, e-mail to Heather Zichal and others. July 30, 2010.
  110. 308 Transcript, Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Admiral Thad Allen, Carol Browner, and Dr. Lubchenco, August 4, 2010.
  111. 309 David A. Fahrenthold, "Scientists Question Government Team's Report of Shrinking Gulf Oil Spill," Washington Post, August 5, 2010; Katie Howell, "White House, Critics Reach Stalemate in Dispute Over Oil Budget in Gulf," New York Times, August 23, 2010.
  112. 310 Editorial, "Do the Math on the Spill," Times-Picayune, August 6, 2010.
  113. 311 Press Conference, Jane Lubchenco Discusses Federal Peer-Reviewed "Oil Budget" Technical Documentation, November 23, 2010.
  114. 312 Press Release, NOAA, Federal Interagency Group Issues Peer-Reviewed 'Oil Budget' Technical Documentation, Novem- ber 23, 2010.
  115. 313 Federal Interagency Solutions Group, Oil Budget Science and Engineering Team, Oil Budget Calculator Technical Documentation (November 2010).
  116. 314 Interview with Coast Guard official, October 24, 2010.
  117. 315 Shaw's Environmental & Infrastructure Group, Shaw Barrier Berm Project—Daily Report Day 44 (July 15, 2010).
  118. 316 Padgett, "Dredge, Baby, Dredge: Can Sand Stop the Oil?"
  119. 317 Press Release, Office of the Governor, Governor Jindal Announces Agreement with BP for Seafood Safety, Coastal Restoration & Tourism Funding, November 1, 2010.
  120. 318 Cain Burdeau, "EPA: Louisiana's Sand Berms Not Stopping Much Oil," Associated Press, September 10, 2010; Mark Ballard, "EPA Opposes La. Berms," Advocate, September 9, 2010; John Maginnis, "Louisiana's Sand Berms Chal- lenged," Times-Picayune, September 15, 2010; Interview with government official, September 22, 2010; Transcript, Meet the Press, November 21, 2010 (Governor Jindal stating "[w]e've collected thousands of pounds of oily debris off these berms"); Oil Budget Technical Documentation, 34 ("Based upon past spills, the oil content of collected debris mass is only a few percent.").
  121. 319 Bobby Jindal, Leadership and Crisis 6 (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2010).
  122. 320 Statement from Admiral Allen on the Successful Completion of the Relief Well, September 19, 2010.
  123. 321 Press Release, NOAA, NOAA Reopens One-Third of Closed Gulf Fishing Area, July 22, 2010; Press Release, NOAA, NOAA Reopens More Than 8,000 Square Miles in the Gulf of Mexico to Fishing, November 15, 2010.
  124. 322 Kim Murphy, "A Poor Appetite for Gulf Seafood," Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2010; Interview with government official, October 15, 2010.
  125. 323 Krissah Thompson, "Waste from BP Oil Spill Cleanup Has Gulf Residents Near Landfills Concerned," Washington Post, August 16, 2010. 324 40 C.F.R. § 261.4(b)(5).
  126. 326 Elana Schor, "How Has BP's Oily Waste Escaped 'Hazardous' Label?," New York Times, July 20, 2010.
  127. 327 Admiral Paul Zukunft, letter to Doug Suttles, July 24, 2010; BP, "Waste and Recoverable Material Tracking," http:// www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9034343&contentId=7063466.
  128. 328 Schor, "How Has BP's Oily Waste Escaped 'Hazardous' Label?"; EPA, "Waste Sampling Strategy and Results," http:// www.epa.gov/bpspill/waste.html#sampling_strategy; Stanislaus, interview.
  129. 329 EPA, "Waste Management on the Gulf Coastline," http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/waste.html.
  130. 330 Robert Bullard and Al Huang, "Oil's Toxic Legacy Not Erased," Politico, August 13, 2010.
  131. 331 Lesley Clark and Fred Tasker, "Oil-Soaked Waste Worries Gulf Coast Landfills' Neighbors," McClatchy Newspapers, July 30, 2010; Robert Bullard, "Government Allows BP to Dump Oil-Spill Waste on Black Communities," OpEd- News.com, July 22, 2010.
  132. 332 Stanislaus, interview.
  133. 333 Admiral Paul Zukunft, letter to Mike Utsler, August 9, 2010; Stanislaus, interview.
  134. 334 "Statement from Admiral Allen on the Transfer of Oversight Responsibilities, October 1, 2010. Chapter Six