Congressman Rick Larsen's Online Office

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, sent the following letter to Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, thanking him for holding a hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has jurisdiction over our nation’s oil spill response and prevention laws, such as the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Clean Water Act. Larsen has been a member of this committee since 2001. Larsen also urged Chairman Oberstar to use the hearing to carefully examine the environmental, economic and legal issues associated with this tragedy.

May 14, 2010
The Honorable Jim Oberstar
Chairman
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2165 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Oberstar:

I write to thank you for scheduling a hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  As federal agencies work to contain and clean up this spill, we must also begin to examine the environmental, economic and legal issues arising from this tragedy.   This hearing will help uncover the gaps and shortcomings of federal oil spill legislation and regulation, which will enable the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to strengthen our nation’s laws in the future.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a major human and environmental disaster of potentially unprecedented proportions.  The explosion on the drilling rig killed 11 workers and injured 17 more, and the spill jeopardizes the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and other Americans who live in the Gulf Coast region.  Federal, state, and local government agencies as well as thousands of volunteers and members of our military have responded rapidly and worked hard to contain the leak and protect the Gulf Coast from contamination. 

This spill raises significant concerns regarding the future of offshore drilling in the United States.  We need to take a step back and make sure that any future drilling will actually live up to the claims of safety and reliability that have been made by oil companies for the last several years.  I support the President’s action to place a temporary hold on new drilling, and I look forward to seeing the results of offshore drilling reviews conducted by the Department of Interior and the new Outer Continental Shelf Safety Oversight Board.

In the aftermath of the spill, President Obama proposed splitting the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into two separate agencies – one to issue leases, and one to ensure that oil companies are following regulations and drilling safely.  I strongly support this change to this agency and will work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that it has the appropriate resources to protect workers and the environment.

Future offshore drilling must occur within a legal framework that leaves no doubt that oil companies are fully responsible for any spills or leaks they cause.  I am prepared to take whatever action is necessary to hold BP fully accountable for this spill, but Congress should never again be in a position where it is forced to clarify the legal responsibility for cleaning up an oil spill after it occurs.  I support raising the liability caps for economic damages and natural resource damages, and look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how best to hold polluters accountable. 

While the final impacts of this potentially massive environmental disaster remain unknown, the situation has raised a number of troubling questions that I look forward to investigating at the hearing.  Currently the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is only about 3 percent of BP’s worst-case scenario they outlined in their oil exploration plan.  BP claimed they had the capability to handle a spill 32 times the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon spill, yet they are clearly unable to control a much smaller spill.  I would like to know why the MMS approves oil exploration plans that are so grossly inadequate.

Also, in 2004 a Coast Guard report stated that oil spill response personnel did not have the capability or knowledge to respond to a major oil spill.  I would like to hear from the Coast Guard what action steps they took after the 2004 report to improve our nation’s oil spill response capability.  Although the Coast Guard and other agencies are working diligently to clean up the spill, it is clear that oil spill response equipment and technology have not significantly improved since the Exxon Valdez spill 20 years ago.

As a representative from a district bordering Puget Sound, a place of stunning beauty and rich natural habitat, I understand how devastating an oil spill would be to a coastal region.  I want to do everything possible to prevent an oil spill from occurring in Puget Sound and other areas of the country. 

Again, thank you for scheduling this hearing.  I look forward to working with you and my colleagues on the T&I Committee to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon spill and examine the best ways to strengthen our nation’s oil spill response and prevention laws. 

Sincerely,



Rick Larsen
Member of Congress

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