Jeanne,

Months ago news broke that an oil rig has been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the past 14 years. Now, a new study estimates that the rig is leaking 4,500 gallons of oil a day -- not the three or four gallons that the owner claimed.1

Taylor Energy Co. has been fighting a federal order to stop the leak.2 We need to tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect the Gulf and enforce the order.

Tell the EPA: Make Taylor Energy clean up its mess.

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan sank a Taylor Energy Company oil platform just 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The pipes ruptured, and have been releasing oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico ever since.3 Now researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Florida State University have found that 108 barrels of oil -- 4,500 gallons -- have seeped into the Gulf each day.4

We know how dangerous oil is to marine wildlife in the Gulf.

• It can lead to hypothermia in sea otters, who rely on their fur for warmth -- being coated in oil can prevent their fur from keeping them warm.5
• Sea otters and other marine mammals can damage their internal organs, including their gastrointestinal tracts, kidneys, liver and lungs by trying to lick the oil off their fur.
• Oil can also cause respiratory problems in whales and dolphins, and impede vital organ function in sea turtles.6,7

And while Taylor Energy challenges the federal order to stop the leak, more and more oil is leaking into the ocean, threatening the lives of marine wildlife.

We can't keep waiting, we need to tell the EPA to enforce the order and make Taylor Energy stop the leak. Take action.

We're still working to protect marine wildlife by stopping offshore drilling off our coasts, but this leak won't stop unless action is taken.

Take action to end the largest U.S. oil spill from continuing.

Thank you,

The Environmental Action team

1. Lisa Friedman, "New Estimate for an Oil Leak: A Thousand Times Worse Than Rig Owner Says," The New York Times, June 25, 2019.
2. Lisa Friedman, "New Estimate for an Oil Leak: A Thousand Times Worse Than Rig Owner Says," The New York Times, June 25, 2019.
3. Darryl Fears, "A 14-year-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico verges on becoming one of the worst in U.S. history," The Washington Post, October 21, 2018.
4. Lisa Friedman, "New Estimate for an Oil Leak: A Thousand Times Worse Than Rig Owner Says," The New York Times, June 25, 2019.
5. Roger Helm, Daniel Costa, Terry DeBruyn, Thomas O'Shea, Randall Wells and Terrie Williams, "Overview of Effects of Oil Spills on Marine Mammals," ResearchGate, February 2015.
6. Roger Helm, Daniel Costa, Terry DeBruyn, Thomas O'Shea, Randall Wells and Terrie Williams, "Overview of Effects of Oil Spills on Marine Mammals," ResearchGate, February 2015.
7. "How Do Oil Spills Affect Sea Turtles?," NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, June 16, 2016.