Senator Markey Introduces Sweeping Legislation to Ensure the U.s. Can Prevent, Respond to Devastating Oil Spills

Press Release

Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, introduced the Oil Spill Response Review Act, legislation that would improve upon the U.S. Coast Guard's capacity to plan for and respond to harmful oil spills. Senator Markey succeeded in getting major provisions of this legislation included in the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, which was favorably reported out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation this morning. The Oil Spill Response Review Act would strengthen the Coast Guard's review of vessel response plans (VRPs) by incorporating incident data and verifying the accuracy of submitted and stored information. It would also expand the designated uses of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, enabling funds to go toward oil spill incident data collection and verification, regular updates to VRPs, and training and equipping Tribal and remote communities with resources and information for oil spill planning, preparedness, and response.

"Oil and water don't mix," said Senator Markey. "Coastal communities know too well the dangers of toxic spills fueled by Big Oil and its addiction to offshore drilling. We have an urgent obligation to use all the tools at the federal government's disposal, and that includes empowering the Coast Guard to fulfill its duty to protect our nation and its waters by stopping these spills."

In 2010, then-Congressman Markey, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, led the charge in Congress to hold BP accountable for the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Markey brought a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Gulf to assess the spill and its impact on the waters, beaches, and marshes of four coastal states. Following meetings with families, businesses, and response teams put in harm's way by the spill, Markey later chaired the first Congressional hearing on Deepwater Horizon 52 days after the start of the disaster to gather testimony and investigate the cause and damage wrought by the spill.

"As we transition to clean, safe energy that creates jobs and lowers costs, we must continue to be ready and able to protect coastal communities from the dangers of oil spills and other fossil-fueled disasters," Senator Markey continued. "Only then can we prevent the next Deepwater Horizon from ever happening."

Later in 2010, Markey continued his efforts to hold BP accountable by introducing legislation alongside then-Congresswoman Lois Capps (CA-24) that would have established an independent, "blue-ribbon" commission to further investigate Deepwater Horizon. Markey also wrote directly to BP to ask the oil conglomerate to share details regarding the total size of the flow of oil spilling into the Gulf Mexico. The Oil Spill Response Review Act of 2022 would similarly direct the General Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the federal government's responses to oil spills following Deepwater Horizon.

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