Waterkeeper Organizations Expose The Crude-Truth in Gulf

Waterkeeper Organizations Expose The Crude-Truth in Gulf

By Emily Feinberg database/Save Our Gulf Associate

For nearly 8 years, a well owned by Taylor Energy Co. LLC has continued to release crude oil. We believe as much as 1.25 million gallons has spilled from this site and it continues.

On February 2^nd, Waterkeeper Alliance, along with several of the Gulf Coast Waterkeeper organizations, filed suit under the citizen suit provisions of the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation Recovery Act for ongoing violations.

Taylor Energy Co and federal agencies have hidden information, which the public has the right to access, about the amount of oil released over the past 7 years, and what is being done to contain the leaks. It’s past time to plug the well, and lift that veil of secrecy.

“The Taylor Oil spill is emblematic of a broken system, where oil production is prioritized over concerns for human health and the environment,” says Justin Bloom, our Eastern Regional Director. “Nearly two years after the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill, none of the comprehensive reforms recommended by the National Oil Spill Commission have been enacted and Congress has yet to pass a single law to better protect workers, the environment or coastal communities.”

The Coast Guard’s estimate of leaked oil was based on “daily reports” submitted by the well’s owner, Taylor Energy Co. LLC. Their estimate of 12,720 gallons of oil is almost 100 times less than estimates gathered by Waterkeeper Alliance, SkyTruth, and South Wings. Using satellite imaging, SkyTruth has released a cumulative spill report with two conclusions: crude oil has been leaking continuously from this site for more than 7 years, and the estimated total volume of crude oil spilled is between 251,677 and 1,174,492 gallons.

The Taylor spill has continued to flow in shallow water for almost 8 years now. If they don’t have the technology to contain a spill in 400 feet of water, what will happen when one of Taylor’s wells leaks oil in deep water?

The oil industry has showed us a general lack of preparedness when it comes to disasters. Take BP’s blowout, for example. The Macondo well flowed unabated for three months in 2010, after releasing almost 170 million gallons of crude oil.

In April of 2011, the federal agency responsible for regulating offshore drilling was remade with new leaders and a clumsy new name (the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement). They conceded that it would be years before they could establish a legitimate regulatory regime to minimize risk to workers and the environment while allowing exploration offshore. Meanwhile, this past November, the Obama administration announced a plan to open up 38 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico and off the pristine shores of Alaska for drilling.

Quick recap: no laws, regulations, or recommendations of the Oil Spill Commission have made a dent, but we allow more drilling.

Now, the House is expected to vote as early as this week on a Republican bill that would allow oil drilling off Florida’s Gulf coast. Even GOP lawmakers can’t support this joke. Floridians are still recovering from the disaster that was the Deepwater Horizon spill and the government dares to suggest drilling just off shore? Sure, we as humans learn from mistakes, but these disasters are costly. While the oil industry worries that environmental, safety, technical, and financial requirements will discourage future exploration and worsen the nation’s dependence on imported oil, our lawmakers better be worried about tainted shorelines, struggling fishing economies, devastated marine habitats, and public health.

Unless we hold these corporate polluters responsible and pressure our government to do its job, we’re looking at another Deepwater Horizon disaster.