{ "id": "R42942", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42942", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 440458, "date": "2015-04-17", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:12:21.873969", "title": "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Recent Activities and Ongoing Developments", "summary": "In the wake of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, federal agencies, state and local government agencies, and responsible parties faced an unprecedented challenge. An oil discharge continued for 87 days, resulting in the largest ever oil spill in U.S. waters. \nLed by the U.S. Coast Guard, response activities were extensive for several years but have diminished substantially:\nAt the height of operations (summer of 2010), response personnel numbered over 47,000.\nAs of April 2015, 30 response personnel, including federal officials and civilians, are working on activities related to the Deepwater Horizon incident.\nIn February 2015, a Coast Guard memorandum announced that in March 2015, the Gulf Coast Incident Management Team (GCIMT) would \u201ctransition from Phase III (Operations) ... and reconstitute as a Phase IV Documentation Team.\u201d As part of that transition, Coast Guard field unit commanders would respond to reports of oil spills in their respective areas of responsibility.\nAs one of the responsible parties, BP has spent over $14 billion in cleanup operations. In addition, BP has paid over $15 billion to the federal government, state and local governments, and private parties for economic claims and other expenses, including reimbursements for response costs related to the oil spill. BP and other responsible parties have agreed to civil and/or criminal settlements with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Settlements from various parties, to date, total almost $6 billion. BP\u2019s potential civil penalties under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which could be considerable, are not yet determined.\nThe natural resources damage assessment (NRDA) process, conducted by federal, state, and other trustees, is ongoing and is now in its restoration planning phase. BP agreed to pay $1 billion to support early restoration projects. Ten such projects have been funded to date, with aggregate estimated costs of approximately $71 million. In December 2013, the trustees proposed an additional $627 million to fund 44 restoration projects. The trustees prepared a final plan for these projects in June 2014.\nIn addition, the RESTORE Act, enacted in 2012, directs 80% of any administrative and civil CWA penalty revenue into a newly created trust fund, which supports environmental and economic restoration projects in the Gulf states. Approximately $800 million is expected to be available from a civil CWA settlement with Transocean\u2014one of the responsible parties\u2014but projects have yet to receive funding.\nThe Deepwater Horizon incident generated considerable interest in offshore drilling safety and related issues. In 2011, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) redefined the responsibilities previously performed by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and reassigned the functions of the offshore energy program among three separate organizations: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR). \nThese agencies have promulgated several rulemaking changes, some of which are based on issues raised by the Deepwater Horizon spill. For example, on April 13, 2015, BSEE released a proposed rule (prior to Federal Register publication) that would alter the requirements for blowout preventers and specific drilling practices/procedures.\nThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule on January 22, 2015, that would amend dispersant regulations in 40 CFR Part 300, Subpart J. Dispersants received considerable attention during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. EPA\u2019s January 2015 proposed rule would, among other provisions, establish a threshold for toxicity and revise the minimum criteria for dispersant effectiveness.\nDuring and soon after the spill response, congressional interest was high, but it has since decreased. Although previous Congresses (111th-113th) enacted several oil-spill-related bills, the provisions in these laws (other than the RESTORE Act) generally concern short-term matters that did not have a lasting impact on oil spill governance. In general, oil-spill-related bills in recent years have addressed issues not directly related to the Deepwater Horizon incident.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42942", "sha1": "a583078f035f92e514b2901e8975a1a454c81799", "filename": "files/20150417_R42942_a583078f035f92e514b2901e8975a1a454c81799.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42942", "sha1": "0e2b52e61bded83ce660a922ce65a48b0de5b429", "filename": "files/20150417_R42942_0e2b52e61bded83ce660a922ce65a48b0de5b429.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2646, "name": "Environmental Cleanup and Waste Management" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc306481/", "id": "R42942_2014May12", "date": "2014-05-12", "retrieved": "2014-07-08T21:53:44", "title": "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Recent Activities and Ongoing Developments", "summary": "This report provides a summary update of selected issues related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140512_R42942_be133cbe5aa274a9617b90a856104b1e8c0344e9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140512_R42942_be133cbe5aa274a9617b90a856104b1e8c0344e9.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum industry", "name": "Petroleum industry" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil industries", "name": "Oil industries" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil pollution", "name": "Oil pollution" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental degradation", "name": "Environmental degradation" } ] } ], "topics": [] }