07.29.08

On Senate Floor, Cantwell Delivers Statement on Mississippi River Oil Spill

WASHINGTON, DC– Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement on the Senate floor, regarding last Wednesday’s tragic oil spill in the Mississippi River near New Orleans, which has released roughly 420,000 gallons of bunker fuel:
 
[Cantwell’s statement as prepared for delivery]
 
“Mr. President, I rise today together with my good friend Senator Landrieu of Louisiana to provide our colleagues with an update on the massive oil spill that struck our nation’s busiest waterway last week.
 
“Last week over 400,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the Mississippi River near New Orleans after a chemical tanker collided with a fuel barge, literally splitting the barge in half. As you can see from this overhead photo, the spill happened right in the heart of New Orleans, causing the city’s famous French Quarter to be drenched in diesel fuel fumes.
 
“This major spill has closed the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the river’s mouth, choking off one of nation’s major commerce arteries. Even now a week later only a few ships can get through a 100 miles stretch of the lower Mississippi. 
 
“As this picture shows from the night of the accident, the mighty Mississippi is covered with an eerie sheen right in downtown New Orleans. And now a week later some of this heavy fuel oil has turned into tar balls bouncing, and sticking, and contaminating, a big stretch of this essential waterway.
 
“The spill has slowed down New Orleans’ normally thriving waterfront, and the economic impact is already being felt. To put this tragedy in perspective, the economic loss from a total shutdown of the Port of New Orleans is costing our nation’s economy around $275 million per day. 
 
“While the Coast Guard has begun to allow limited essential vessel traffic, at one point over 800 tugs and barges were impacted by the spill and many ships are still waiting for this vital commerce corridor to reopen. Four parishes with a total of 12 facilities had their water intakes closed, and many citizens are buying bottled water. 
 
“And four major refineries are having low water pressure problems, which has slowed down gasoline production at a critical time.   While officials believe they have contained most of the oil coming from the barge with booms, they still cannot say when they can remove the broken barge from the water. We’re only now starting to fully understand the economic and environmental impacts of this spill.
 
“Mr. President, the fact is that it will be a while before we know the full environmental damage of this particular spill. Wildlife managers at the Delta National Wildlife Refuge, at the southernmost fringe of the Mississippi River, are bracing for the worst.
 
“Thick black chunks of oil and a multicolored sheen is only now starting to arrive at the Refuge. But the bulk of the massive oil spill has not yet struck this special marshland. Crews are setting up hundreds of feet of barriers to stop the oil from killing the marsh plants that feed nearly 100,000 migratory birds every autumn. 
 
“Unfortunately, as many of my colleagues know, these sorts of spills are becoming all to frequent. Just last November, the Cosco Busan cargo ship spilled 54,000 gallons of highly toxic bunker fuel oil into the San Francisco Bay, costing well over $50 million in cleanup costs. Hurricane Katrina and Rita caused spills totaling nearly 8 million gallons, released throughout the Gulf of Mexico region.
 
“In December of 2004, the Selendang Ayu broke apart off of Alaska, pouring 350,000 gallons of oil into the waters off the Aleutian Islands, killing countless sea birds and marine mammals like sea otters.
 
“In October of 2004, the oil tanker Polar Texas spilled over ONE THOUSAND gallons of North Slope Alaska crude oil into the pristine Puget Sound. The Dalco Passage cost million to clean up costs, and was a wake up call to my constituents in Washington state who want action. 
 
“And as my friend Senator Lautenberg knows-- he has been a great champion of strengthening the oil spill prevention safety net-- the oil tanker Athos spilled over a quarter-million gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River and its tributaries in November of 2004.
 
“As the Chair of the Commerce Subcommittee with jurisdiction over oil spill issues and the Coast Guard, I want to let Senator Landrieu and the people of Louisiana that we are here to help in anyway we can. I know the Coast Guard District eight performed heroically during Hurricane Katrina. And I’m sure they are doing their best to help clean up this spill and restore this vital economic link. 
 
“The Commerce Committee has also been working hard to try and give the Coast Guard the tools it needs to prevent these spills. And to respond quickly and effectively when there is a spill. Over the last few years the Committee has held several hearings; asked for and received Coast Guard and Government Accountability Office reports; and worked with experts to update the nation’s oil spill prevention safety net. 
 
“We worked hard to develop thoughtful and balanced legislation that would help prevent more of these tragic spills from happening. 
 
“And almost exactly a year ago, after months of bipartisan negotiations, the Commerce Committee unanimously reported the 2007 Coast Guard Authorization which contained many of these oil prevention and response provisions. I’d like to thank Ranking Member Stevens for his thoughtful improvements and his strong support of these vital provisions which update the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 which he authored.
 
“But Mr. President, I’m afraid that even a bipartisan bill that could have prevented this. And is critical to our national security and emergency preparedness is still subject to the same type of obstructionism by a handful of Senators. A situation we unfortunately are all so familiar with and is greatly frustrating to the American people. 
 
“In this case, the bill is being held hostage by just one or two Senators who only seem interested in stopping progress. They don’t care that if they had not blocked this Coast Guard bill the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal might not be covered with oil. This picture is about 3 miles down river from the collision site, looks like this. 
 
“They don’t seem to care that in its views letter on the bill, the Bush Administration’s Department of Homeland Security stated that it [quote] “strongly supports” the Coast Guard bill as reported by the Commerce Committee. 
 
“Mr. President, I’d like to submit the Administration’s support letter into the record. 
 
“The Coast Guard and its Commandant Admiral Thad Allen consider enactment of the bill a high priority, and this year’s Coast Guard Posture Statement stated that [quote] “the swift enactment of these provisions would significantly improve safety, security, and stewardship in the maritime domain.”
 
“But these obstructionist Senators refuse to even meet with the Coast Guard Commandant who wants at least the chance to explain to them why he needs this legislation to pass so he can do his critical job securing our nation. 
 
“It is especially frustrating that two of the members of the Republican Steering Committee who are blocking to the Coast Guard bill are Commerce Committee members. But they raised no complaints during its development or markup. These coastal state Senators offered no amendments when the bill passed through that Committee.
 
“I hope they realize know that they are blocking a bill that includes some of the strongest oil spill prevention and response language that we’ve seen in recent years. Let me take a moment to describe exactly what bipartisan provisions I am talking about.
 
“The first would require the Coast Guard to finish long-overdue rule that would have potentially sped up the Coast Guard’s ability to conduct salvage of the severed barge. Even a week later the barge wreckage is blocking Mississippi River commerce. 
 
“Another section addresses human error causing spills. We don’t know what caused this spill yet – although we know there was not any one properly licensed to pilot the tug pulling the barge involved in the accident-- we know that human error is the leading cause of oil spills. 
 
“The Coast Guard bill would also allow the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s oil spill response program to get up to $15 million per year from the oil spill liability trust fund. This program is currently on the ground helping with the Louisiana oil spill, but they are limited in their abilities because of severe budget constraints.
 
“And there are a number of other significant measures that will help improve our nation’s oil spill prevention safety net. Mr. President, I hope the New Orleans spill will help get this widely supported bipartisan bill over the finish line. 
 
“But even without the oil spill provisions, there are many other reasons we need to enact this legislation. It provides the Coast Guard bill with critical resources and authorities it needs to fight terrorists, capture drug-runners, and defend our homeland security.
 
“Isn’t it time help push the Coast Guard into the 21st Century and begin planning for the challenges of tomorrow, rather than just struggling to deal with the challenges of today? And isn’t it time to pass legislation that could prevent oil spills like the one in Louisiana from happening again, and provide the tools the Coast Guard and NOAA need to respond when such tragedies do happen?
 
“Mr. President, I stand here today to say it’s time to put political games aside and do something that we all know needs to be done. And we must do it now. This bill has languished on the Senate floor for far too long. The House has also passed its measure many months ago and is waiting to go to conference.
 
“Therefore, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed immediately to calendar number 568, the Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.That the bill be considered read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place be printed in the Record.
 
“Well Mr. President, I am very disappointed in that objection. I would think that at an absolute minimum, all Senators from coastal states would understand the importance of the Coast Guard and want to provide them with the resources and authority they need to serve the American public. 
 
“We are leaving the Coast Guard floundering without the much-needed authorities and legislative support from Congress that is critically necessary to effectively protect our ports, shores, and nation’s security. I hope in the next day or two we can work out any outstanding issues that may be preventing this Coast Guard Authorization bill from clearing the Senate. For the Coast Guard and for every coastal area that may someday have to recover from a spill.
 
“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”
 
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