GRAND ISLE, La. – Four members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works came to Grand Isle Friday for a first hand visit and all agreed that BP’s attempts to rein in the spill’s effects have so far come up woefully short.
Senator David Vitter was joined by three senators from outside the state: Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).
“We got to see firsthand the economic impact that the spill is having on this region,” said Cardin, (D-MD) who led a press conference following the tour.
All four of Senators agreed that BP is not doing enough to either help stop the leak or help with clean up.
Senator Cardin said, “(we will) make sure that BP is fully accountable responsible for all the damage it has caused.”
Vitter talked about the environment and the ecosystem that has been hurt by the oil spill. He expressed great concern for the pelicans and how their existence was in danger.
“Queen Bess Island and Cat Island are key nurseries for brown pelicans and…it was disturbing quite frankly to see oil soiling those islands, getting past the boom,” said Vitter.
The drilling moratorium was also a point of interest for Vitter.
“We absolutely believe here on the ground that we can be very aggressive with safety measures immediately in a way that will allow us to lift that moratorium safely and soon.”
Senator Barbara Mikulski expressed her empathy by talking about how a spill like this would be devastating to the people of Maryland and its coast. She also thinks BP is not being held accountable enough and the federal government needs to be tougher on them.
“I believe BP could be doing more (and) faster to plug the leak. I think the coast guard needs to put performance standards around the clean up,” said Mikulski.
In addition to the four senators, Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) talked about his disappointment.
“In November I came here and announced the successful recovery of the brown pelican after decades of it being on the endangered species list and we delisted the state bird of Louisiana, the brown pelican, and now here a few months later we’re seeing brown pelicans photographs covered in oil.”
Dave Camardelle , mayor of Grand Isle, expressed his concern in the event of a hurricane. He is afraid that with a big enough storm, there could be “2 (feet) of oil on Bourbon Street.”
After everyone had spoken, Senator Cardin was asked about how he felt about BP’s estimates of oil being leaked out. His response is it made him “angry” and that BP has been handling the situation poorly.
