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The petroleum industry and federal government have been handed a C average grade by environmental and health experts in regard to responses following the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster of April 20, 2010.
Two years after the largest marine oil spill in history occurred off the coast of Louisiana, debate continues to rage regarding causes, environmental impact, economic and health damage, burden of responsibility and if a return to normalcy might ever be expected.
Friday marked the second anniversary of the Macondo blowout, and explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon that claimed 11 lives and during 87 days released approximately 206 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Last Wednesday, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science President Donald Boesch, a Louisiana native appointed by President Obama to serve on the seven-member National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, presented that group’s report card for 2012.
Speaking before approximately 100 people at Nicholls State University – 34 attendees were registered students present as a class assignment – Boesch was a keynote speaker during a day of scientific presentations by government and education agencies, and hosted by the non-profit Environment and Health Council of Louisiana.
According to the national oil spill commission, findings were clustered and evaluated in five categories that graded not only the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, but overall oil industry and government activity as it pertains to spill responses, safety concerns, environmental and economic impact and effectiveness.
“The net result is that some improvements have been made,” Boesch said. “Congress [in contrast to industry] hasn’t moved any legislation to codify, put in law, any of the new improved procedures.”
Boesch said the key findings of his commission were that the offshore incident should have never happened, and that blame could be shared among BP, Halliburton, Transocean and even federal regulators that failed to enforce safety procedures.
The report card’s best grade of B was offered regarding what has been done during the past 24 months in response to the disaster, specifically for safety and environmental awareness.
Boesch said the most significant improvements have been seen in what the petroleum industry has done to change procedures and enhance safety of offshore operations. At the same time he noted Congress has done nothing to make permanent any improvements offered by private business.
Response practices by the oil industry prompted the commission to offer a B- grade in the category of spill response and containment.
Two grades of C were posted for initiating comprehensive restoration programs on the parts of industry and local agencies.
The lowest letter grade posted was a D for Congress, which has taken no action to establish self-funding recovery and restoration efforts or adjust limits on response funding and liability.
The commission’s harshest criticism came in noting a lack of leadership on aggressive implementation of offshore safety measures. As an overview statement this resulted in the White House commissioned group issuing letter grades of B for the Obama Administration, C for the oil and gas industry, and a D for Congress.
“Since we finished our report there have been two other investigations of the incident that have been done,” Boesch said. “We are proud that their findings are consistent with what we found.”
Recommendations made by the commission dealt with safety, environmental restoration, and financial and legal responsibility.
As part of a question and answer panel, Boesch admitted that different groups offer different assessments on the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, many of which are harsher than what his commission issued. “It is interesting that we are getting reactions both pro and con,” he said.
In addition to Boesch’s presentation and panel discussions, academic reports on seafood quality and health concerns were presented during the day-long event.
Audience members were critical of many reports which they characterized as one sided, overly academic and lacking input from people on the front lines.
Rebecca Duet owns Jordan’s Mini Store and Deli in Galliano. Since the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster her business has been off 40 percent and she has been discouraged that seminars during the past two years tend to repeat the same findings with no solid answers for residents living with the aftermath.
“It has affected us so much,” she said. “There is not much left. Last season we had shrimp with no eyes and no tails. Fishermen in general are not making money and that carries over to everyone else.”
Duet offered photos of deformed crabs and eyeless shrimp, but received a response that this specific session was not intended to address economics and business compensation.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Seafood Science Division Director Robert Dickey said that poor quality seafood is not a general rule in the Gulf and finding it depends on where sampling is taken. “We are not seeing anything out of the ordinary,” he said.
“The two industries that we rely on most are at odds with each other,” Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals state health officer Jimmy Guidry said. “People want immediate answers … but what is being presented is just data.”
Elizabeth Cook of New Orleans was critical of reports presented by Dickey, Guidry and others.
“You’re telling us everything is OK,” Cook said to Dickey. “It’s not OK. People are still getting sick because of it.”
The main health and seafood concern by attendees was related more to the dispersants used following the spill than the oil and natural gas releases from Mocando.
Guidry said there has been a lot of misinformation released that caused concern and confusion. He noted a person who was thought to be impacted by dispersants because of an orange substance found on his body after swimming in the Gulf. “It was an orange jellyfish,” he said.
Guidry warned against automatically attributing ailments from other undetermined causes to the BP spill.
Attendees remained skeptical about explanations. Cook accused presenters of slanting their findings and asked why many studies conducted have had some connection to government agencies. Presenters denied her accusations.
“We all would like to find a chemical to blame,” LSU Department of Environmental Science professor emeritus Ed Overton, who was moderator for the day’s event, said. “But it is not that clear.”
Dr. Mike Robichaux, a physician and former state senator from Raceland, has sided with residents voicing health concerns. “The studies were designed to fail,” he said. “We see it every day. These illnesses do not lend themselves to conventional testing.”
“It is important that we remain vigilant in safety regarding offshore oil and gas exploration and development,” Boesch said. “We shouldn’t be thinking about business as usual.”
Environment and Health Council of Louisiana President John Hightower said he was pleased with the seminar and participation level of attendees.
“We had this seminar in the Thibodaux-Houma area because this is the center of activity for this topic,” Hightower said. “I thought it went well.”
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science President Donald Boesch tells seminar attendees at Nicholls State University that work can be improved as recovery efforts continue following the oil spill.
