Update from Congressman Gene Taylor

Dear Friends,

The oil spill out in the Gulf is a big deal to all of us. It's deadly serious. Like you, I very much want to see the oil leak capped as quickly as possible. In fact, I wrote Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Friday urging him to make available all of the resources of the U.S. military to help in the effort to stop the spill and mitigate its effects, and I spoke personally with Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations for the Navy, who assured me that every resource of the United States Navy has been made available.

The good news is that because the oil rig was so far out to sea, the Mississippi coast is a long way from the source. As of today, there is no oil in the Mississippi Sound. That works in our favor.

On Saturday, I saw firsthand that the oil was further away from the Mississippi Sound and the Louisiana Marshes than the media had reported and predicted. Several days of heavy seas helped to break down some of the oil into a thin sheen. According to experts such as Dr. Bill Walker, Director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, most of that oil sheen will evaporate in direct sunlight.

The thicker portions of the oil spill were still further offshore, closer to the source of the spill, so we still have time to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening. I have conferred with Admiral Thad Allen, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Captain Ed Stanton, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Coast Guard, and I am confident that they are doing everything possible to minimize and mitigate the impact of the oil spill.

The people working to contain the spill have been encouraged that the dispersants sprayed on the oil at the surface and released near the oil leaks 5,000 feet below the surface are achieving the desired result of breaking-up the oil into smaller droplets and oil sheen—which, again, can more easily evaporate or naturally degrade. This is good news.

Thankfully, it appears that we are going to have a few days of good weather and calm seas that will allow the Coast Guard and other responders to contain and collect more of the oil-water mix and skim it into barges and tankers, or burn it in a controlled manner. Calmer winds also allow them to resume spraying dispersants from the air to continue to break up the thick portions of the spill.

Congress passed the Oil Pollution act of 1990 after the Exxon Valdez spill. Almost every response happening now is a result of that legislation that I voted for back then. The legislation calls on the oil companies to have virtually unlimited liability for the damages and the cleanup. BP is going to pay the bill, and the federal government will make sure that they do so.

I also want to make it clear that what is happening out in the Gulf is not the same as Hurricane Katrina, which was the most destructive natural disaster in our nation’s history. With Katrina, an estimated 70,000 Mississippi families were displaced from their homes, and 235 people died in our state alone.

Hurricane Katrina caused billions of dollars of property damage, of course, but it also caused substantial environmental damage. The storm surge pushed toxic chemicals, dead animal carcasses, raw sewage, and other hazardous debris all around the coastline and into coastal waters. So far, this oil spill has not caused nearly as much environmental damage as Katrina, and we all are working to keep it that way.

I continue to closely monitor the sub-surface efforts to stem the leak. I continue to work with the Coast Guard and other local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that individuals or companies that are interested in assisting with the response efforts are put in touch with the appropriate officials.

I assure you that this oil spill is being taken very seriously. But I also want to calm some of the hysteria that has resulted from those who have aired or published stories with doomsday headlines. Rather than adding to the panic, I am trying to accurately describe the current situation.

We are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. That is how most of us live our lives. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is already training people to respond should help be necessary.

As a South Mississippian, I am very proud of the thousands of South Mississippians who have volunteered to help. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rep. Gene Taylor's signature
GENE TAYLOR
Member of Congress