Washington, D.C. — Late this afternoon, the National Oil Spill Incident
Commander announced that BP’s broken oil well had been capped at
approximately 3:30 PM, shutting off the flow of 1.5 to 2.5 million
gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill was in its
87th day. According to government estimates, the well has spilled
between 125 million and 215 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of
Mexico to date, which would make it the largest oil spill ever in the
Gulf of Mexico and the largest U.S. oil spill. Damage to the Gulf of
Mexico, marine and coastal wildlife, beaches, and the Gulf economy has
been huge and will continue for some time after the oil flow has
stopped.
Anna Aurilio, Federal Legislative Director for Environment New Hampshire, said, “We hope this announcement means that the runaway BP well
has finally been capped and no more oil escapes into the Gulf of
Mexico. But remember, the permanent solution to this disaster won’t
come until BP finishes drilling and plugging its relief well. The
cleanup and restoration effort in the Gulf will take many months or
years to finish.”
Aurilio continued, “Now is the time to make sure this kind of
catastrophe never, ever happens again. We have to hold BP accountable
for the untold environmental and economic damage its gusher has caused.
We have to ban offshore drilling in new places that were protected for
decades. Most importantly, Congress must pass comprehensive energy
legislation, including the bill introduced today by Senator Merkley,
that reduces our oil consumption and pollution and shifts our economy
to clean energy.”
