BP oil disaster: Who made it that way?

In essence that is true, but that is not the whole story. 15 ppm IS the standard, but it cannot always be met..

Some countries are reinjecting ALL produced water because of the difficulty of maintaining this level.

But, I have worked offshore on lots of platforms where this level was maintained daily.

Bacteria in the sea can take care of a lot of oil contamination, but the concept is very negative.

They probably cannot take care of the crap that BP is discharging.

"hls" wrote in news:DKydncBeX9YBH7PRnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

It CANNOT be met without serious expenditure of time and money. Period.

It CANNOT be met and still allow oil to be recovered before it reaches the coast (this is a current fact, having been proved several weeks ago, to the chagrin of anyone who has trod upon the beaches of Louisiana, with the notable exeption of the half-black man who has declared himself in charge of this whole mess...).

The crime is that the US government STILL INSISTS on the 15ppm standard and WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM IT.

NOBODY currently in power has bothered to waive the standard. Do /you/, "hls", understand this basic fact? I think that you do not.

It is an International standard. It is met by every country in the world that observes maritime law. This includes the Dutch. Every nation in Europe has exactly the same environmental laws for dumping oil into sea water that the US has.

BP has the responsibility under US law to cleanup the spilled oil. BP is the one that is paying for the purchased or rented equipment for the clean up. During the first 6 weeks of the spill the government allowed BP to decide which equipment to procure. Since around June 10 the Coast Guard has taken over that decision making process. BP is still paying the bills.

In order for BP to be licensed to drill in the Gulf they are required to have the equipment available to clean up the worst case spill. The worst case happens to be twice as big as this spill. BP already had 100 skimmers in the Gulf in early May. Now they have 600 skimmers and more are on order. In all there are now 6000 ships that have been purchased or hired.

The Dutch skimmers have been purchased and are in the Gulf. The problem is they are not "the solution" they are just a tiny tiny part of the clean up.

The US Government I'm sure would love to push BP as hard as possible to get the gusher stopped and the mess in the Gulf cleaned up. The government already has enough to hit BP with penalties approaching the net worth of BP's US holdings. But BP is a corporation and the government is well aware that if they demand too much of this corporation it could just declare bankruptcy and walk away from it all. BP can at any time they decide to simply hand over all their US assets to a US court and walk away and not look back. That means it would be the government's job at taxpayer expense to stop the leak and clean up the mess. It may come to that eventually but at this point most rational minds would agree that this would not be the best time for the government to get into the oil drilling business.

No matter how many times you repeat your lies they are still lies. The US Government is not now and never has at any time in this clean ever stopped skimmers from returning oily water to the Gulf. And the Jones Act has never prevented any foreign ship from participating in the clean up. There are now and have been from the beginning foreign ships involved in the clean up.

It is not a fact. It is a lie. The Coast Guard informed the skimmers in the early stages of the clean up that if they return oily water to the Gulf in front of the skimmer it will not be considered a discharge in violation of the MARPOL regulations. Neither the Europeans or the US has the authority to waive the MARPOL regulations. Only the International Maritime Organization has that authority to waive International maritime laws. What the US government is doing in the GOM is no different than what other Maritime nations do in the same circumstances.

-jim

Deepwater BP Oil Spill "To the people of the Gulf Coast: I know that you've weathered your fair share of trials and tragedy. I know there have been times where you've wondered if you were being asked to face them alone. I am here to tell you that you're not alone. You will not be abandoned. You will not be left behind."

-- President Barack Obama, U.S. Coast Guard Station, Grande Isle, Louisiana, 5/28/10

Read the Transcript

g-bp-oil-spill Download Video: mp4 (136MB) mp3 (13MB) Information on Spill-Related Damages and Claims Fishermen and those affected by the BP Oil Spill who wish to contact BP about a claim should call 1-800-440-0858. For those who have already pursued the BP claims process and are not satisfied with BP's resolution, can call the Coast Guard at 1-800-280-7118. For more information on assistance for small business owners and others in affected areas, visit What You Can Do Request volunteer information and register to volunteer: (866)-448-5816 Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system or submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511 Report oiled or injured wildlife: 1-866-557-1401 Report oil on land: 1-866-448-5816

State specific volunteer opportunities: Louisiana

Mississippi Florida Alabama

Federal Response Resources Check out the links below to find out how federal departments and agencies are responding to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill:

Joint Information Center At the beginning of the event, the Coast Guard elevated the response and established a Regional Command Center and Joint Information Center in Robert, La., inviting all partners in the response to join. Get the latest updates from the partners on the ground in the Gulf Coast:

=A0 Facebook Flickr Twitter YouTube Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Since the moments after the oil rig explosion on the night of April 20, DHS has played a lead role in federal response efforts =97 deploying the U.S. Coast Guard to search and rescue the 126 people aboard the rig, and quickly leading efforts to establish a command center on the Gulf Coast to address the potential environmental impact of the event and to coordinate with all state and local governments. Secretary Napolitano leads the National Response Team, an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution events.

U.S. Coast Guard The Coast Guard has played a major role from the very beginning, when it responded to the explosion on a search and rescue mission to save lives. Pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, Rear Admiral Mary Landry was named the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to lead a Regional Response Team which was stood up that included DHS, DOC/NOAA, DOI and the EPA, as well as state and local representatives. As the event escalated, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was announced as the National Incident Commander for the administration's continued, coordinated response =97 providing additional coordinated oversight in leveraging every available resource to respond to the BP oil spill and minimize the associated environmental risks.

Department of the Interior (DOI) The morning after the explosion, Secretary of the Interior deployed Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes to the Gulf Coast to assist with coordination and response to the event, and provide hourly reports back to the administration. Since then, DOI has played a vital role in overseeing BP's response efforts while =97 at the President's request =97 working to deliver a report with recommendations on what, if any, additional safety measures should be required for offshore operations. Secretary Salazar has announced that inspections of all deepwater rigs and platforms are underway.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Since the BP Oil Spill, EPA has provided full support to the U.S. Coast Guard and is monitoring and responding to potential public health and environmental concerns. Environmental data, including air quality and water samples, will be posted and frequently updated on this site as it is collected and validated by EPA's response teams along the impacted coastlines. This data is meant to determine potential risks to public health and the environment:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration As the nation's leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations:

Weather Forecast: Small Business Administration SBA is making low-interest loans available to small businesses in the Gulf Coast regions of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi suffering financial losses following the April 20 Deepwater BP oil spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are available immediately in designated counties and parishes of each of the four states to help meet the financial needs of qualifying small businesses following the oil spill:

Department of Defense (DOD) DOD continues to support the ongoing response effort by lending Naval and Air Force bases to provide vital staging areas for boom deployments and other activities, and providing C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Aerial Spray Systems, which dispense chemical dispersant =97 capable of covering up to 250 acres per flight. DOD also plays a significant role in the National Response Team, helping to lead the coordination of response actions for the federal government. Secretary of Defense Gates has authorized use of Title 32 status for up to 17,500 National Guard members in four states: Alabama (3,000), Florida (2,500), Louisiana (6,000) and Mississippi (6,000).

Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service The Fish and Wildlife Service continues to support the joint agency response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with experienced specialists, land managers, and support personnel. Booms to capture and deflect anticipated oil are being deployed at Breton National Wildlife Refuge, where thousands of brown pelicans and shorebirds are currently nesting. The Service also is initiating Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration activities in this incident to assess and address the long-term damage to impacted resources:

Department of the Interior's National Park Service The National Park Service is focused on human safety and resource protection in eight national parks in the Gulf area. These parks are working to assess resources, collect baseline data, coordinate boom placements, plan for responsible cleanup, install barriers for shore bird and turtle nest protection, and plan for potential park closures, if necessary:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Oil spill response workers may be exposed to many different chemical, physical, biological, and psychological hazards. These hazards vary depending on the type and location of the oil spill, type and stage of response, degree of coordination between entities involved in response and recovery, and the workers' specific tasks. Therefore, occupational and environmental hazards need to be identified, assessed, and monitored in each oil spill response:

Daily Updates A chronology of the ongoing administration-wide response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill, beginning on April 20, is available here. Information on Air, Food, and Water Safety Air: With the prevalence of vapor concerns from oil near the Gulf coast and the controlled burning to help contain the spread of oil, air quality is a health concern. EPA has initiated an air monitoring effort to ensure the safety of local residents and track any developing air quality changes.

Food:

Although crude oil has the potential to taint seafood with flavors and odors caused by exposure to hydrocarbon chemicals, the public should not be concerned about the safety of seafood in stores at this time. There is no reason to believe that any contaminated product has made its way to the market.

Water:

NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida's Pensacola Bay. The closure is effective immediately. Fishermen who wish to contact BP about a claim should call 1-800-440-0858.

Related Blog Posts July 01, 2010 6:11 PM EDT Vice President Biden's Visit to the Gulf Coast Vice President Biden travels to the Gulf Coast to assess the ongoing efforts to counter the BP oil spill -- get a first hand account with photos.

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July 01, 2010 10:15 AM EDT The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill:

June 30, 2010 President Obama sends a memorandum to the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies regarding the Long-Term Gulf Coast Restoration Support Plan to create a plan of federal support for the long-term economic and environmental restoration of the Gulf Coast region.

June 30, 2010 9:42 AM EDT The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill:

June 29, 2010 Vice President Joe Biden visits New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla., to survey the response efforts, visit with Gulf Coast residents impacted by the spill, and meet with area officials. view all related blog posts Related Video

June 18, 2010 West Wing Week: "Gator-cade" From the Press Office

July 01, 2010 7:26 PM EDT Readout of the President's Briefing Today on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

July 01, 2010 7:01 PM EDT Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and National Incident Commander Thad Allen, 7/1/2010

June 25, 2010 12:38 PM EDT Vice President Biden to Travel to Gulf Coast Next

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The Official Site Of The Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse is a new online tool that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. Developed by NOAA with the EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Interior, the site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.

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EPA Responds to the BP Oil Spill along the Gulf Coast

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