Gulf Coast Resilience System

Reporting from Washington — The Obama administration on Tuesday lifted its moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, potentially blunting a serious political issue in the weeks before the midterm congressional election and signaling its confidence in newly tightened regulation. "There has been significant progress over the last few months in enhancing the safety of future drilling operations, and in addressing some of the weaknesses in spill containment and oil spill response," Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said in announcing the moratorium's end. "More needs to be done," he said, "but we believe the risks of deepwater drilling have been reduced sufficiently to allow drilling under existing and new regulations." But the moratorium's end satisfied few players involved in offshore oil drilling issues. Some environmentalists criticized ending the drilling suspension while investigations and cleanup continued into the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 people and unleashed the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Get breaking news alerts delivered to your mobile phone. Text BREAKING to 52669.

As suspected by many scientists and residents along the Gulf Coast, the dispersants used by BP and natural processes have driven the oil from Deepwater Horizon to the bottom. Given the large amounts of petrochemicals covering the bottom of a huge area in the Gulf of Mexico, there is serious concern that the food chain is significantly disrupted in this area. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129782098

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Lawsuits are already being prepared alleging harm to people who are living near or working to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The law firm Smith Stag in New Orleans says it has assembled a group of lawyers in the Gulf states to process such claims. Stuart Smith, a partner in the firm, says he has been in touch with people in Alaska who say they were hurt during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 by chemicals in the oil and dispersants used to keep it from reaching shore "which are also toxic." He says he's concerned about the potential health effects on the thousands of out-of-work fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen who will be taking part in the cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. So what are the human health risks from a disaster such as this? For more information: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-05-oil-health_N.htm?csp=obinsite

The title of this article would seem to indicate that BP, now having capped the Deepwater Horizon well that has spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico with devastating impacts on the Gulf's ecosystem, believes that its responsibilities to correct the damage done is now coming to a conclusion. The reality of the situation may be far more complex. If BP is allowed to walk away from this catastrophe ignoring impacts on wildlife, the foodchain, human health, livelihoods, the social ecology of Gulf coast communities, and the economy of the region, what does that portent for future abuses by the petrochemical industry in the Gulf of Mexico? With James Lee Witt (former FEMA Administrator) entering the picture, perhaps there is some inkling of hope. How far will a James Lee Witt go to address the One Health dimensions of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's impacts on the Gulf region? That remains to be seen... "BILOXI, Miss. — BP's incoming CEO said Friday that it's time for a "scaleback" of the massive effort to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but stressed the commitment to make things right is the same as ever. Tens of thousands of people – many of them idled fishermen – have been involved in the cleanup, but more than two weeks after the leak was stopped there is relatively little oil on the surface, leaving less work for oil skimmers to do.