Congressional hearings on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Deepwater Horizon Disaster (main)

Published: May 28, 2010, 5:37 pm

Updated: January 4, 2011, 11:00 pm

Topics:

Deepwater Horizon Disaster (main) Oil and Society (main) Environmental Law & Policy (main)

This is a listing of Congressional hearings and briefings related to the 'Deepwater Horizon oil spill'.

House Committee on Natural Resources

1. May 26, 2010, Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy and Implications of the Deepwater Horizon Rig Explosion, Ken Salazar, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, among others.
2. May 27, 2010, Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy and Implications of the Deepwater Horizon Rig Explosion,Lamar McKay, Chairman and President BP America, among others.
3. June 10, 2010, Our Natural Resources at Risk: The Short and Long Term Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, David Westerholm, Director of Office of Response and Restoration of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others.
4. June 17, 2010, Deepwater Horizon Incident: Are the Minerals Management Service Regulations Doing the Job?Bob Abbey, Acting Director of Minerals Management Service U.S. Department of Interior, Frank Rusco, Director of Natural Resources and Environment U.S. Government Accountability Office, among others.

House Committee on Energy and Commerce

1. May 4, 2010, closed-door briefing with leaders from BP, Transocean and Halliburton.

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

1. May 12, 2010, Inquiry into the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast Oil Spill, with executives from BP, Transocean and Halliburton
2. July 20, 2010, The Role of the Interior Department in the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, with testimony from the Honorable Gale Norton, Former Secretary, Department of the Interior, 2001-2006; the Honorable Drik Kemprhorne, Fomer Secretary, Department of the Interior, 2006-2009; the Honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary, Department of the Interior.

Subcommittee on Energy and Environment

1. May 12, 2010, Inquiry into the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast Oil Spill, with testimony from BP America, Transocean Ltd., and Haliburton executives, among others
2. May 19, 2010, Sizing up the BP Oil Spill: Science and Engineering Measuring Methods, with a mechanical engineering professor, a scientist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a marine scientist from the University of South Florida and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) earth science director.
3. May 21, 2010, Bipartisan Briefing On Oceans Under Siege: Environmental Impacts Of The BP Oil Spill, with environmental scientists.
4. May 27, 2010, Combating the BP Oil Spill, with testimony from BP, EPA, NOAA, among others.
5. June 7, 2010, Local Impact of the Deepwater Horizion, with testimony from Mississippi and Louisiana residents and the Institute of Marine Mammal Service, among others.
6. June 10, 2010, The BP Oil Spill: Human Exposure and Environmental Fate, with testimony from specialists and researchers the Department of Marine and Geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Louisiana State University Health Center; among others.
7. June 15, 2010, Drilling Down on America's Energy Future: Safety, Security, and Clean Energy, with tenstimony from the Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhilips, and the Presidents of BP America and Shell Oil Company
8. June 17, 2010, The Role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, with testimony fromTony Hayward, Chief Executive Office, BP; amoung others
9. June 30, 2010, Hearing on Legislation to Respond to the BP Oil Spill and to Prevent Future Oil Well Blowouts, with testimony from David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior; a specialists from the Environmental Defense Fund; and a consulting production engineer.

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Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure

1. May 19, 2010, Deepwater Horizon: Oil Spill Prevention and Response Measures, and Natural Resource Impacts, with executives of BP and Transocean Ltd., as well as Minerals Management Service (MMS) Director Elizabeth Birnbaum, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco, and Coast Guard leaders, among others.

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade andConsumer Protection

1. July 27, 2010, The BP Oil Spill and Gulf Coast Tourism: Assessing the Impact, with testimony from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, the U.S. Travel Association, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Tourism Commission, among others.

Subcommittee on Health

1. June 16, 2010, HHS Action to Identify and Address Health Effects of the BP Oil Spill, with testimony from the Director of the National Institutue of Occupational Safety and Health, the Deputy Commissioner for Foods of the Food and Drug Administrarty, and the Senior Medical Advisor of the National Institutue of Environmental Healh Sciences from the National Institutes of Health, among others.

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

1. May 11, 2010, to review current issues related to offshore oil and gas development, with executives from BP, Transocean and Halliburton, as well as a former MMS official and a drilling expert, which was rescheduled due to "overflow room."
2. May 18, 2010, to receive testimony from the Administration on issues related to offshore oil and gas exploration including the accident involving the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, MMS Director Elizabeth Birnbaum and others.
3. May 25, 2010, to receive testimony on the liability and financial responsibility issues related to offshore oil production, including the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico, including S. 3346,a bill to increase the civil and criminal penalties on liability under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

A fourth generation shrimper in protest during a Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Hearing.

Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works

1. May 11, 2010, Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Recent Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with executives from BP, Transocean and Halliburton, as well as other witnesses
2. May 18, 2010, Federal Response to the Recent Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with the heads of the EPA, Interior, and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
3. August 4, 2010, Oversight Hearing on the Used of Oil Dispersants in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, with Administrtors and Directors from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Environmental Toxicology, among others.

Subcommittee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife

1. May 11, 2010, EPA’s Role in Protecting Ocean Health, on ocean acidification and the effect of oil dispersants.
2. July 27, 2010, Assessing Natural Resource Damages Resulting from the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster, with testimony from the SoutheastRegional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Deputy Chief of Assessment and Resoration Division, Office of Response and Resoration National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the President of Applied Marine Sciences of the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council; among others

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

1. May 18, 2010,Response Efforts to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, with BP America Chairman Lamar McKay,Jane Lubchenco, NOAAAdministrator and others.
2. June 30, 2010, Deepwater Horizon Tragedy: Holding Responsible Parties Accountable, with testimony from Texas and Mississippi residents, among others.

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

1. May 19, 2010, Oversight of the SBA Disaster Assistance Program, with the associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance within the Small Business Administration (SBA); a business owner; and a representative from the Government Accountability Office.
2. May 27, 2010, Impact of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Small Businesses?, with testimony from the National Incident Commander and Former Commandant of U.S. Coast Guard, the Director of the Greater New Orleans Region of the Louisiana Small Business Development Centers, the Vice President of Resources of BP America, among others.

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

1. May 17, 2010, Gulf Coast Catastrophe: Assessing the Nation’s Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Janet A. Napolitano, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Lamar McKay, BP, among others.
2. June 10, 2010, Deep Impact: Assessing the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon OIl Spill on States, Localities, and the Private Sector, with testimony from the Honorable David Camardelle, Mayor of Grand Isle, Lousiana; The Honorable Juliette Kayyem, Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Raymond Dempsey, Vice President of Strategy of BP America, Inc.; among others.

Committee on Oversight of Government Management, TheFederal Workforce, and the District of Colombia

1. June 9, 2010, The National Security Personnel System and a Performance Management in the Federal Government, with testimony from the Director of National Security Personnel transition Office, U.S. Department of Defense; the President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; among others.BP's CEO, Tony Hayward

Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security

1. June 16, 2010, The Gulf of Mexico OIl Spill: Ensuring a Financially Responsible Recovery, with testimony from the Honorable Frank R. Lautenberg, U.S. Senate; the Vice President for Resources for BP America, Inc.; the President and CEO of the Transocean Ltd.; the Director of the National Pollution Funds Center, U.S. Coast Guard; and the Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
2. July 22, 2010, The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Ensuring a Financially Responsible Recovery Part II, with testimony from the Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, the President and CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, and the President of MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC.

Sources

• Fowler, Tom, Congress continues hearings on oil spill, Houston Chronicle, Accessed 25 May 2010.

Citation

Bar, R. (2011). Congressional hearings on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Congressional_hearings_on_the_Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill