|
Today marks ten years since the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed eleven people and spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the ocean. The effects were widespread, from workers and wildlife to coastal communities, and some of those impacts continue today. The spill was a wakeup call, leading to stricter regulations and safety procedures, as well as the creation of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). However, the Trump administration has systematically weakened the rules put in place in response to the disaster. For instance, BSEE recently issued 1,700 waivers to companies for safety regulations, most commonly allowing companies to avoid tighter rules on blowout preventers, the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Reflecting on the Deepwater Horizon spill further reveals the Trump administration's prioritization of oil and gas companies over the health of land, wildlife, and communities. As the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic, top officials in environmental agencies have been particularly active in rolling back regulations that protect land and public health. The Interior Department has taken more than 65 actions since the pandemic began, moving ahead with oil and gas leasing, removing protections for endangered wildlife, and expanding mining operations.
|
How could we be so unprepared to develop tests to deal with a pandemic? Partly it’s a result of years and years of campaigning against government. But undermining government has consequences, as covid-19 shows us. Deepwater Horizon was a reminder that consequences could be pretty significant when we hollow out environmental regulations as well.”
