Today marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and led to the worst marine oil spill in history. Before the ruptured well was finally capped five months later, roughly 4.9 million barrels of crude oil had spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. There are estimates that at the height of the spill this equated to more than one Exxon Valdez per week flowing from the broken pipe.
The flow of oil had detrimental effects on wildlife and Gulf ecosystems, and severely impacted local economies that depend on the fishing, tourism and other coastal resource-based industries. While no energy resource is risk or cost-free, we need to ensure that an ecological disaster of this size and scope is prevented from ever occuring again.
In May 2010, President Obama created the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling with the goal of providing recommendations on how the United States can prevent and mitigate the impact of future spills that result from offshore drilling. The Commission released its final report earlier this year, stating that errors and misjudgments by the three companies — BP, Transocean, and Halliburton – all contributed to the disaster. The Commission found that it was “foreseeable and preventable” and made recommendations to address systemic problems across the oil industry’s risky business practices and the federal government’s and lax regulation enforcement.
Chris looks forward to working to working with his colleagues on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to address the Commission’s recommendations. He believes that we must continue to work on updating our safety and environmental regulations for offshore drilling and that we must also ensure that the ecosystems of the Gulf are fully recovered from this disaster and that Gulf Coast communities are fairly compensated for their losses.
Chris also understands that new regulations and enforcement, as well as changes in industry culture, are only part of the solution. If we are truly serious about preventing future environmental disasters as well as reducing our dependence on oil, the commonsense recommendations of the Commission can help lead the way, but we have to do more. We should also take longer-term steps to restore and diversify the Gulf with both traditional and renewable energy technologies. Chris believes that we must make fundamental changes in our energy systems so that we use our energy resources more wisely and efficiently. Furthermore, we must continue to invest in clean, renewable energy in order to transition our nation beyond fossil-based fuels.
In Delaware, we are lucky to have alternative different offshore energy resource in abundance – wind. Delaware and other mid-Atlantic states are working hard to develop a robust offshore wind industry and lead the country in the utilization of this important resource. Chris joined Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar when he announced the new “Smart from the Start” initiative, which will better facilitate citing, leasing and construction of new energy projects. Watch Senator Coons at the “Smart from the Start” announcement. This is an important step toward renewable energy adoption, energy independence, and new high tech jobs for our region. Thanks to “Smart from the Start” it will be easier for Delaware to tap into our wind energy potential.
How we power our future is one of the most critical questions of our time because it has far-reaching implications for our economy, national security, and environment. Offshore wind is only part of the clean energy picture, but an incredibly important one for Delaware that will bring jobs, economic growth, and home grown clean energy to our state. Chris is committed to making sure that the government plays a proactive role in promoting innovation, manufacturing, and construction in the clean energy field, as well as ensuring proper regulation of our industries so that oil spills and other preventable disasters become a thing of the past.