John,
Oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico are notorious for skipping out on their responsibilities to clean up after their projects. For decades, they’ve drilled greedily for fuel and then left their wells, pipelines, and platforms to rot.
Now the Trump administration is pushing for more drilling — without first requiring the cleanup of old fossil fuel projects.
The fossil fuel industry needs to be accountable for the messes it leaves behind.
When wells, pipelines, and platforms are deserted (instead of carefully decommissioned), they eventually start deteriorating — and often leak oil, methane, and toxic mercury into the environment. These irresponsibly discarded drilling projects can harm clean air, clean water, and vulnerable marine wildlife, including federally protected loggerhead sea turtles, black-capped petrels, and Rice’s whales.
Corporations shouldn't be allowed to delay decommissioning old projects — and those that do certainly shouldn't get to apply for new drilling opportunities.
Tell the federal government to ban companies with overdue decommissioning obligations from expanding their offshore operations.
