Coastal Drilling in the Gulf and the Oil Spill

This page was created in 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It was most recently updated on 3/12/20, because the specter of coastal drilling is never far away. In Jan 2020 several environmental groups banded together and sued the EPA to compel it to restrict the use of chemical agents to clean up oil spills. In Feb 2020 scientists reported that that Deepwater Horizon’s impact was much worse than originally thought. In March 2020 Florida’s two US Senators pushed to extend a moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for 10 years beyond its current expiration in 2022. Finally, the Trump administration continues to stay busy rolling back environmental protections across the board. What could possibly go wrong?

Coastal residents beat back proposed expansion of coastal drilling during the Obama administration, but it returned under the Trump administration. Despite our best efforts—including approval of Amendment 9—the new rules took effect on 27 Dec 2018, and the Interior Department has already given offshore oil drillers nearly 1,700 exemptions to safety rules put in place after BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, effectively unraveling coastal protection rules put in place to avoid future disasters. On the plus side, the administration’s giant 2018 offshore oil and gas lease sale was a flop, and in Aug 2019 Environmental groups sued the administration to challenge its fourth oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The sale offers 78 million acres to offshore drilling without fully analyzing the risks to people, wildlife, or the environment. The US House responded with a bill that would block oil and gas drilling off our Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and a bill to permanently ban drilling off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to act on the bills, effectively killing them. President Trump also threatened to veto any legislation that contains an offshore drilling ban.

In April 2019 conservation group Oceana released an analysis of public documents which concludes that despite “minor improvements made since the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, a system of lax oversight, paltry fines and overstretched inspectors risks further major oil spills.” The Trump administration is exacerbating this threat by opening up almost all US waters to offshore drilling and easing or repealing Obama-era safety rules. On 2 May 2019 the interior secretary announced that the administration was acting to eliminate “unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining safety and environmental protection offshore.” Environmental groups fiercely oppose the rule changes, which become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

In case you thought we only had to worry about coastal drilling here in Florida, in June 2019 Physicians for Social Responsibility released the 6th edition of its “Compendium of Scientific, Medica, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking (Unconventional Gas & Oil Extraction).” Spoiler alert: “fracking is, well, bad for our health,” and it’s especially problematic in Florida. Because of its unique karst geology, Florida gets its very own section on pages 36–37 of the compendium: “Fracking in Florida presents many unknowns,” along with numerous other mentions throughout the document. League has been sounding the alarm about the dangers of fracking in Florida for many years. For a quick overview, check out our “What about fracking?” article from 2017. When you talk to your legislator, make sure he knows that fracking—specifically acid fracturing—and underground injection of fracking wastewater must be banned. Governor DeSantis pledged to ban fracking during his campaign, but he has yet to do so.

Use the quick links at the top left of the page to quickly review the background of coastal drilling and the oil spill (it won’t be quick; there is a LOT of history there); check Politico.com’s most recent articles on offshore drilling; or just read on to see what action you can take now.

You may also be pleased to hear that the Taylor Energy oil leak off the coast of Louisiana has also finally been plugged—14 years later. This leak probably flew under your radar, since it actually started in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan caused a Taylor Energy offshore drilling platform to topple and breach several underwater wells. Wikipedia has all the details, but the fact that the original leaks were never actually contained wasn’t discovered until widespread monitoring was implemented after the Deepwater Horizon spill. Better late than never, I guess?

What can you do to prevent expansion of coastal drilling?

1. Support alternative energy. You’re too late to join the Okaloosa-Walton Solar Co-op, but Solar United Neighbors of Florida can still help you go solar.

2. Write a letter to the editor opposing coastal drilling. Here’s how to do it. The Daily News published mine.

3. Ask your town or city to pass a resolution opposing coastal drilling. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

4. Support Oceana’s Grassroots Opposition to Offshore Drilling and Exploration in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

5. Support the National Resource Defense Council by contacting your elected officials.

6. Sign the Surfrider Foundation petition against offshore drilling.

7. Contact your federal and state Senators and Representatives and tell them you support a ban on coastal drilling both in- and off-shore, and ask them to support passage of the next version of the Safe COAST Act. If approved by the new Congress, this law would codify the Oil and Gas Safety Production Systems and Well Control rules that were adopted based on recommendations from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Find out where they stand on coastal drilling.

Make your voice heard. Phone calls and emails are the best way to communicate with your officials, because they are fast. Avoid adding links or attachments, as such emails may be blocked or the attachments stripped off by server firewalls. Copy and paste pertinent information directly into the message.

To learn the most effective ways to get through to your elected representatives, check out our briefing, Make Your Voice Heard; the Florida Senate’s tips on effectively communicating with your legislators; and Call the Halls: Contacting Your Representatives the Smart Way, prepared by a former congressional staffer.

Here are some points you can make about your objections to the expansion of coastal drilling:

• Seismic airgun blasting used for drilling on the ocean floor can disturb, injure or kill marine life, harm commercial fisheries, and disrupt coastal economies.
• Coastal industrialization would threaten tourism, recreation and fishing industries.
• More destructive oil spills are inevitable, and technology to prevent and contain spills has not kept pace with drilling technology. Although many promising new technologies have been identified since 2010, very few have been been commercially deployed yet.
• More Americans now oppose (51%) than favor (42%) allowing more offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters. (Source)
• Coastal residents fought down an Obama administration plan to permit oil and gas drilling off the mid- and southeastern Atlantic coast. Why must we keep fighting the same battles?
• The proposed rollback of safety rules—put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico—would pave the way for another such disaster.
• Proposed expansion of coastal drilling puts powerful fossil-fuel interests ahead of those of coastal residents and businesses and ignores the realities of climate change. As we continue to use oil, we are contributing to coral death from ocean acidification and coral bleaching, as well as more frequent and stronger storms (two words: Hurricane Michael), and increased sea level rise. Expanding oil drilling into protected areas will not lower gas prices, or get us energy independence (see below for details). There is simply not enough oil to do that. Promises of royalty money to the state are also greatly exaggerated. This drilling will however, threaten Florida’s resources and its coastal economies. And Florida is not the only state with a coastline.
• The Florida and Loop currents in the Gulf spread vital nutrients to marine life off Florida’s west coast, so if the currents are exposed to oil, it could expose Florida’s beaches and marine habitats to oil contamination.
• Florida’s mangroves and corals provide habitat for over 40 bird species, over 500 fish species, sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, sharks and commercially-important shellfish like spiny lobsters, oysters, clams and shrimp. These habitats are particularly vulnerable to oil.

Here is the contact information for your elected officials:

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Coastal Drilling

Definitions
Justification
Timeline
News reports

Efforts to ease offshore drilling rules began gaining support in spring of 2018, and on 19 June 2018 President Trump scrapped the previous policy on protecting the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes, and replaced it with a new executive order giving more responsibility to states for offshore oil and gas drilling, as well as prioritizing business interests ahead of the environment (and it’s the fossil fuel industry being prioritized, NOT local businesses in coastal states). The President said the measure is “rolling back excessive bureaucracy created by the previous administration.” The new rules took effect on 27 Dec 2018 (view comments here). These rules relax safety measures and expand offshore drilling. In fact, the Interior Department has already given offshore oil drillers nearly 1,700 exemptions to safety rules put in place after BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, effectively unraveling coastal protection rules put in place to avoid future disasters.

Leagues at local, state and national level all oppose drilling for gas or oil in US coastal waters, because that will take our country in the wrong direction in addressing climate change, and the heightened spill risks of such operations far outweigh any potential reward.

Definitions

This is a subject of keen interest along the Gulf Coast. However, the term “coastal” is a bit nebulous, so it’s helpful to understand the difference between “offshore” and “inshore.” Any fisherman will tell you that inshore fishing is closer to the coast—typically no more than 20–30 miles out—where the water is much shallower, the weather more predictable, and the fishing more abundant. By contrast, offshore locations are more than 30 miles from the coast, where the water is much deeper. Just remember: The Gulf is only 932 miles wide at its widest point, and here on the Emerald Coast you’d have to sail out over 140 miles to find water deeper than 120 feet. You should also know that “deepwater” refers to depths greater than 1,000 feet; “ultra deepwater” refers to depths greater than 5,000 feet.

The natives of the Gulf Coast are particularly attuned to the potential negative impacts of both in- and off-shore drilling, because what happens offshore will eventually make it to shore, as we learned to our sorrow in 2010. That year the Deepwater Horizon oil rig—located 41 miles off the Louisiana coast—exploded on April 20th, killing 11 people and fouling our coast from Louisiana to the western side of the Florida peninsula. As of Feb 2014, BP’s cumulative total costs from the oil spill hit $42.7 billion (including the $20 billion compensation fund). Four years later the first BP reparations payments are finally flowing to the Panhandle in 2018.

Justifications

With that much money at stake, why take the risk? There are two reasons:

• Energy independence. The western and central Gulf of Mexico—including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama—is one of the major petroleum-producing areas of the United States, accounting for 17% of US crude oil production and 5% of US natural gas production. Additionally, over 45% of total US petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf Coast (where Hurricane Katrina caused substantial oil spills), along with 51% of total US natural gas processing plant capacity. (Source)
• Money. BP profits took a pretty steep (nearly 22%) hit after the oil spill, but the oil giant still reported a $13.4 billion profit in 2013. Shareholders did lose some value, but there was plenty of value left to spare. Fossil fuel interests have a lot more money and lawyers to promote their interests than the average citizen, and that’s why we must constantly be on guard.

We all know that money talks, but what about claims for energy independence cloaked in the guise of “national security?” These charts from the American Petroleum Institute and the US Energy Information Administration tell the story. As of 2017 we were extracting about 29 million cubic feet of gas per year, so there’s about 12 years of easy gas left. There’s more, but the cost will have to go up, and we’ll need to find more to make it proved. As of 2017 we were extracting about 3.5 billion barrels of oil domestically per year. So there’s about 10 years or so of easy oil. Same applies. Current federal attempts to expand coastal drilling will line the pockets of the fossil fuel industry at the expense of coastal residents and businesses while essentially kicking the can down the road about 12 years. Then what?

The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico—which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama—since 1995. In March 2010, President Obama announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, in federal waters more than 125 miles from the coasts of Alabama and Florida. However, the Obama administration reversed its plans after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and imposed a moratorium on new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years (i.e., no earlier than Dec 2017). (Source)

On 19 June President Trump scrapped the previous administration’s policy on protecting the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes, and replaced it with a new executive order giving more responsibility to states for offshore oil and gas drilling, as well as prioritizing business interests ahead of the environment (and it’s the fossil fuel industry being prioritized, NOT local businesses in coastal states). This order unravels coastal protection rules put in place to avoid future disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill, such as limitations placed on where and how energy companies could drill. There was no mention of the Deepwater Horizon spill in President Trump’s announcement or in the executive order.

Suffice to say, those of us who live along the Emerald Coast are concerned about the specter of coastal drilling, and have been for many years. In November 2009—five months before the Deepwater Horizon disaster—the Northwest Florida Daily news took a timely (one might even say “clairvoyant”) in-depth look at the issue. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, and then study the anatomy of an oil rig graphic to learn more about the potential repercussions on our community.

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Coastal Drilling Timeline

• Dec 2016: President Obama issues a moratorium on all new oil and gas drilling in approximately 120 million acres in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
• Apr 2017: President Trump lifts the moratorium and directs the Interior Department to revise the Obama administration’s 2017-2022 leasing plan for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.
• Apr 2017: US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke instructs the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to expedite consideration of oil and gas company applications to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas resources and to review existing federal regulations on offshore oil and gas drilling for revision or repeal—including safety rules implemented after Deepwater Horizon.
• May 2017: The Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act that would ban offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean is reintroduced in the US Senate.
• Dec 2017: Department of Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement proposes new rules to ease safety requirements for Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf.
• Jan 2018: Secretary Zinke announced a draft program to make over 90% of the total U.S. Outer Continental Shelf acreage available oil and gas exploration and development. The proposal included 47 potential lease sales, with 12 in the Gulf of Mexico and nine in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Jan 2018: Florida Governor Rick Scott immediately appealed for an exemption from the draft program to open parts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas exploration.
• Jan 2018: The (new) Safe Coasts, Oceans, and Seaside Towns (COAST) Act is introduced in the US House to codify the production safety systems rule and the well control rule, two of the safety regulations put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
• March 2018: Secretary Zinke informs the US Senate Natural Resources Committee that Florida is not included in the draft offshore gas and oil drilling expansion program, but that a final decision has not been made and a final proposal would be released in fall 2018.
• June 2018: President Trump scraps the Obama administration’s policy on protecting the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes, and replaces it with a new executive order that basically undoes coastal protection rules enacted to prevent future disasters like Deepwater Horizon.
• Oct 2018: The new rules are scheduled to take effect on 27 Dec 2018.
• Nov 2018: Florida voters approve Amendment 9, banning oil and gas drilling in Florida’s territorial waters.
• Dec 2018: New, relaxed rules took effect.
• May 2019: Interior Secretary announces additional regulatory rollbacks.

News Reports about coastal drilling (oldest to newest)

Executive Order 13547, Stewardship of the Oceans, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes (7/19/10)
A Collaborative Effort to Prevent the Next Spill (NYT, 11/2/10)
Remarks by the President on America’s Energy Security (3/30/11)
Offshore drilling permit times shorter, agency says (3/14/12)
Deepwater Horizon exposed serious gaps in deepwater oil spill research (4/23/12)
Trump’s risky offshore oil strategy (NYT, 7/5/17)
Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan—What You Need to Know (National Geographic, 1/4/18)
Plan to expand offshore drilling draws cheers, jeers (NWFDN, 1/5/18)
Opinion: Say no to coastal drilling (NYT, 1/5/18)
Trump administration says no oil drilling off Florida coast (NWFDN, 1/9/18)
Trump changes course: Florida gets pass on drilling plan (NWFDN, 1/10/18)
Drilling ban applauded, but questions remain (NWFDN, 1/10/18)
Senator: Drilling plan carve-out for Florida may be illegal (NWFDN, 1/11/18)
Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf — Oil and Gas
Production Safety Systems – Revisions (BSEE, 12/29/2017)
The Trump Administration is proposing auctioning off nearly all US coastal waters for offshore drilling (Business Insider, 1/4/18)
Trump Admin’s Offshore Drilling Plan Raises Bipartisan Ire In Florida (WFSU News, 1/5/18)
Not just Florida: Tourism big in other states opposing coastal drilling (Reuters, 1/16/18)
Nearly every governor with ocean coastline opposes Trump's drilling proposal (CNN, 1/12/18)
More Americans oppose than favor increased offshore drilling (Pew Research, 1/30/18)
Zinke defends Florida offshore drilling exemption (The Hill, 3/13/18)
California claims bias after Florida’s exempted from Trump’s offshore drilling plan (NBC News, 4/7/18)
Piecing together Zinke’s 5-year-plan puzzle (E&E News, 4/16/18)
Drilling, vaping bans heading to voters (NWFDN, 4/17/18)
GUEST EDITORIAL: Offshore well rules should be made law (NWFDN, 4/30/18)
Florida’s House delegation opposes offshore drilling (NWFDN, 5/18/18)
New report says Trump administration's offshore drilling expansion threatens 11 Florida parks (Orlando Weekly, 5/25/18)
Former Okaloosa commissioner joins push for offshore drilling (NWFDN, 6/7/18)
EDITORIAL: Big Oil sends a local to do its bidding (NWFDN, 6/8/18)
GUEST COLUMN: Write your representative over offshore drilling (NWFDN, 6/10/18)
Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States (6/19/18)
Trump scraps Obama policy on protecting oceans, Great Lakes (AP, 6/21/18)
Trump’s giant offshore oil and gas lease sale was a flop (Earther, 8/16/18)
GUEST COLUMN: Don’t allow drilling in the Gulf (NWFDN, 9/2/18)
Administration easing offshore oil and gas drilling rules (US News & World Report, 9/28/18)
Trump wants to roll back safety regulations that could have helped prevent Deepwater Horizon Disaster (Earther, 10/1/18)
Pensacola area worried about Trump administration’s moves to relax offshore drilling rules (Pensacola News Journal 10/8/18)
GUEST EDITORIAL: Drilling opposition has a purple hue (NWFDN, 11/24/18)
Exclusive: Interior hands out hundreds of offshore drilling safety rule waivers (Politico, 2/25/19)
US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public (The Guardian, 3/14/19)
Group pushes to expand offshore drilling—including off Florida’s coast (Floridapolitics.com, 4/2/19)
Dirty Drilling: Trump Administration Proposals Weaken Key Safety Protections and Radically Expand Offshore Drilling (Oceana Report, 4/19)
The confidential oil plan that could cost Trump reelection (Politico, 4/10/19)
Trump’s policy of less safety and more offshore drilling is a ‘recipe for disaster’ (The Guardian, 4/18/19)
Trump eases regulations adopted after BP Deepwater Horizon disaster (The Guardian, 5/2/19)
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Huge Offshore Drilling Sale in Gulf of Mexico (Earthjustice.org, 8/2/19)
House passes two bills blocking oil and gas drilling off Pacific, Atlantic and Florida Gulf coasts (CNBC, 9/11/19)
House passes bill to permanently ban offshore drilling off Florida’s Gulf Coast (Miami Herald, 9/11/19)
Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan Would Be an Environmental Disaster (Center for American Progress, 10/23/19)
95 Environmental rules being rolled back under Trump (New York Times, 12/21/19)
Trump Administration cuts back federal protections for streams and wetlands (NPR, 1/23/20)
EPA is getting sued over the toxic chemicals used to clean up oil spills (Earther, 1/30/20)
Rubio, Scott push to extend oil, gas moratorium (NWFDN, 3/12/20)

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Deepwater Horizon: Oil Spill and Aftermath

Oil spill timeline
2018 Update
2020 Update
Links and Resources

Deepwater Horizon Timeline

April 2010: Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill

On 20 April 2010 an explosion and subsequent fire on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers, injured 17 others and caused the rig to sink. The blowout that caused the explosion also caused a massive offshore oil spill in the gulf, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

August 2010: Oxfam America Weighs in on Gulf Coast Recovery Efforts 

On 24 August 2010, Oxfam America released a report entitled One Gulf, Resilient Gulf: A plan for coastal community recovery, which it prepared in conjunction with many other community and civic organizations. The report urges Congress and the President to move quickly to support a robust long-term recovery plan, and to better protect coastal communities by improving the safety and oversight of the use of the Outer Continental Shelf and offshore drilling. The report identifies resilience — the capacity of human, natural, and physical systems to adapt to and recover from change — as a critical defining factor in the recovery plan. According to the report’s authors, this will require additional investments to safeguard the region’s rich cultural, environmental, and economic resources, and to spur much-needed diversification in the region’s economy that will reduce its historic dependence on “extractive” industries.

September 2010: Federal report released

On 28 September 2010, the federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (aka “Gulf Coast Task Force” and “Restore the Gulf”) released its report entitled America’s Gulf Coast: A Long Term Recovery Plan after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The Council comprises governors from the five affected Gulf States, the Secretaries from the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and Homeland Security, as well as the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Gulf States recommended and President Obama appointed the Secretary of Commerce as the Council’s Chair. Their mission is to build a framework that will quickly connect local and state reconstruction plans with the resources they need to rebuild and preserve the Gulf’s unique ecosystem, to create sustained economic development, and to give opportunities back to those whose livelihoods have been shattered by the spill. On 9 Dec 2015 the Council finally approved an Initial Funded Priorities List—after three years of deliberations.

February 2011: National Commission report released

The Commission Chief Counsel’s Report was released 17 February 2011. The report stated, “The Macondo [Deepwater Horizon] blowout happened because a number of separate risk factors, oversights, and outright mistakes combined to overwhelm the safeguards meant to prevent such an event. The Chief Counsel’s team identified a number of technical risk factors in the design, execution, and testing of the Macondo well. The team was also able to trace all of these failures back to an overarching failure of management. (emphasis added) Better management of personnel, risk, and communications by BP and its contractors would almost certainly have prevented the blowout. The Macondo disaster was not inevitable.”

March 2011: Florida state report released; National commission disbanded

Florida’s State Emergency Response Team issued its report on 2 March 2011.

The National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ceased operations on March 11, 2011. The Commission released its final report on 11 January 2011. You can also read the Commission's final recommendations. Basically the report recognized that oil-drilling technology is quickly outstripping advancements in safety and spill mitigation, and the Commission concluded: “Our recommendations—for a new approach to risk assessment and management; a new, independent agency responsible for safety and environmental review of offshore drilling; stronger environmental review and enforcement; a reorientation of spill response and containment planning; and a revision of liability rules to better protect victims and provide proper incentives to industry—aim to establish an oversight regime that is sufficiently strong, expert, well-resourced, and flexible to prevent the next disaster, not the last. The oil and gas industry—remarkable for its technological innovation and productivity—needs government oversight and regulation that can keep pace.”

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April 2012: BP settles lawsuit

On 18 April 2012, BP announced it had agreed to a class action settlement in the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster. The settlement will be paid from a $20 billion trust fund set up to compensate thousands of businesses and individuals who made claims after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

May 2014: BP tries to get out of paying compensation 

In an April op-ed BP America Chairman and President John Minge claimed that “No company has done more to help a region recover after an industrial accident.” Perhaps so, but we haven’t forgotten that it was the same company’s negligence that caused the “accident” in the first place. Considering 11 people died in the initial explosion, cleaning up the mess it made was the least BP could do under the circumstances. Patting itself on the back therefore seems more than a little inappropriate. After finally settling a class action lawsuit in 2012, it seems BP has had a change of heart. The company is now trying to get out of paying the compensation that was part of the settlement agreement. Read all about it.

September 2014: Judge rules that BP was negligent in oil spill 

BP acted “recklessly” and bears most of the responsibility for the nation’s worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge concluded Thursday (9/4/14), exposing the energy giant to roughly $18 billions of dollars in additional penalties. Of course BP says it will appeal. Read all about it.

June 2015: Deadline to file personal or business claims 

On 23 August 2010, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) replaced BP as the administrator of BP’s $20 billion compensation fund. The GCCF was replaced by the Deepwater Horizon Claims Center on 4 June 2012. The final claim filing deadline was midnight on 8 June 2015, and the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Settlement Program is no longer accepting new claim forms from businesses or individuals.

January 2016: Status Update

So what has actually been done to implement the recommendations from all the experts? Well, as noted above, Restore the Gulf finally approved a funded priorities list on 9 Dec 2015—after three years of deliberations. The discredited Minerals Management Service was renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, or BOEMRE (unaffectionately known as “BUMMER” in Louisiana). Florida Governor Rick Scott visited Panama City and went fishing in Destin. And of course, BP maintains its commitment to the Gulf.

Visit the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website on Deepwater Horizon (DWH) and check out the interactive map of DWH Projects that have been funded in the state of Florida. You can also review FAQs and a summary of submitted projects in either PDF, map or Excel format. DEP continues to accept project proposals through its website. These will be considered for funding under RESTORE Act, Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Restoration Program and National Fish & Wildlife Federation (NFWF). Suggest a new project for consideration here, but be advised the form only works with Internet Explorer.

In the meantime, more than 3,200 active oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico have been abandoned, and are currently unplugged and unprotected. This is in addition to the 27,000 abandoned wells that have been plugged. Following is a list of links to articles and resources about coastal drilling and our way forward—that is, our way back to the Gulf as we knew it.

2018 Update

BP settlement money has finally started flowing to the Panhandle. Triumph Gulf Coast is the non-profit charged with distributing $1.5 billion in economic damages from Deepwater Horizon oil spill. You can keep up with their meetings and research the various proposals already submitted.

On 19 June President Trump scrapped the previous administration’s policy on protecting the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes, and replaced it with a new executive order giving more responsibility to states for offshore oil and gas drilling, as well as prioritizing business interests ahead of the environment (and it’s the fossil fuel industry being prioritized, NOT local businesses in coastal states). This order unravels coastal protection rules put in place to avoid future disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill, such as limitations placed on where and how energy companies could drill. There was no mention of the Deepwater Horizon spill in President Trump’s announcement or in the executive order. Check out Politico.com’s compendium of news, analyses and opinion on the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida's economy relies heavily on keeping its coastal waters healthy, and the state has had long-standing, bipartisan opposition to drilling in both state and federal waters, especially off the Gulf Coast. Florida voters approved Amendment 9 on 6 Nov. In addition to prohibiting the use of vapor-generating electronic devices in enclosed indoor workplaces, Amendment 9 also prohibits drilling for oil or natural gas in state waters—either for exploration or extraction. This prohibition covers bays, estuaries and other waterways, and includes offshore water within the state’s territorial seas: out to 10 miles off Florida’s Gulf coast and 3 miles off the Atlantic coast. While the measure offers crucial protections to the state’s environment and economy, it does not prevent oil and natural gas products produced outside state boundaries from being transported to state ports or through state waters via pipelines or surface transport.

2020 Update

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, we learn that the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was much worse than initially thought. A new report, published in Science Advances on 12 Feb 2020, shows that the spill extended far past the footprint that satellites showed with oil even getting swept up along the Gulf Stream toward the East Florida shelf.

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Oil Spill Aftermath: Links and Resources (oldest to newest)

Discovery of ‘Invisible Oil’ Shows BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Was Bigger Than We Thought (2/12/20)
Editorial: Giving oil spill victims more time to evaluate losses (11/2/10)
Surfrider Foundation: Beach contamination video (3/15/2011)
NOAA information and resources (4/20/11)
NOLA Times-Picayune: One year later links (4/20/11)
The Atlantic: Conversation with Carl Safina (4/20/2011)
Property Casualty 360: Interview with Ken Feinberg (4/20/11)
One year later: Deepwater Horizon by the numbers (4/21/11)
The Economist: The Shores of Recovery (4/20/11)
The Smithsonian: Scientists Discuss Deepwater Horizon (4/19/11)
Gulf Oil Spill Anniversary: Spills Around The World Since Deepwater Horizon (4/20/12)
BP Oil Spill: Two Years Later (4/23/12)
BP ends oil spill cleanup in Gulf, except for Louisiana (NPR, 6/10/13)
Halliburton will plead guilty to destroying evidence in BP Gulf spill (NPR, 7/25/13)
NFWF Announces More Than $100 Million for Restoration Projects on the Gulf Coast (11/14/13)
Judge denies BP’s attempt to avoid up to $18 billion in fines (NPR, 11/14/14)
Plan to use Gulf oil spill funds for beach hotel sparks lawsuit (NPR, 11/25/14)
Supreme Court rejects BP’s challenge to Gulf oil spill settlement (NPR, 12/8/14)
EDITORIAL: The spill crisis, five years later (NWFDN, 4/17/15)
Louisiana five years after BP oil spill: 'It's not going back to normal no time soon' (4/18/15)
Deepwater Horizon five years later: lessons learned (CFact.org, 4/20/15)
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Five Years Later (NOAA, 4/20/15)
The Deepwater Horizon Disaster Was Five Years Ago Today. Here’s What We Still Don't Know. (ThinkProgress.org, 4/20/15)
Jury acquits ex-BP exec of lying in oil spill (NPR, 6/6/15)
BP to pay $18.7 billion to settle Gulf Coast oil spill claims (NPR, 7/2/15)
US settles claims against BP over Deepwater Horizon spill for $20 billion (NPR, 10/5/15)
Blowout (Texas Monthly, 10/16)
Leaked BP report reveals serious near-miss accidents (The Guardian, 12/13/16)
US to roll back safety rules created after Deepwater Horizon spill (NYT, 12/28/17)
BP’s Deepwater Horizon bill tops $65bn (The Guardian, 1/16/18)
Gulf Oil Spill (Smithsonian: The Ocean, 4/18)
BP settlement money starts flowing to Panhandle (NWFDN, 4/30/18)
Deepwater Horizon disaster altered building blocks of ocean life (The Guardian, 6/28/18)
Trump plans to relax Obama rules for oil companies put in place after BP disaster (The Guardian, 1/15/19)
Remember the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster? The Trump administration wants you to forget (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2/28/19)
EDITORIAL: Lessons from Deepwater Horizon disaster still resonate (Government Technology, 3/12/19)
Invisible oil beyond the Deepwater Horizon satellite footprint (Science Advances, 2/12/20)
Discovery of ‘invisible oil’ shows BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster was bigger than we thought (Earther, 2/12/20)