Markey Statement on BP Investigative Report

September 8, 2010 – Following the release of an internal investigative report by BP on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill from the company’s Macondo well, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee and Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, issued the following statement:

“Just as the environmental damage did not end with the capping of BP’s well, this company-run investigation is not the end of the inquiries into the BP oil spill.

“This report is not BP’s mea culpa. Of their own eight key findings, they only explicitly take responsibility for half of one. BP is happy to slice up blame, as long as they get the smallest piece.

“BP is right that there was no one event that caused the disaster, and that blame can be shared among many parties. From the assurances given by the oil industry that this type of accident wouldn’t happen and could be contained if it did, to the overly-cozy relationships established between the oil industry and regulators, the series of events leading to this spill stretches back decades and the blame spans across the entire oil industry.

“Congress continues to investigate the disaster, as does the Obama administration and the presidential commission, and those are the investigations that will hold the most weight with the public and with those tasked with overseeing the oil industry. I look forward to seeing the final results of the multiple other investigations not funded by BP or the other companies involved in this disaster. Those are the reports that will tell the real story of this disaster, and give us the lessons we need to create laws that will prevent this type of accident from happening again.”

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