October 15, 2021
| Article
A controlled burn of oil from the BP oil spill sends towers of fire hundreds of feet into the air over the Gulf of Mexico on June 9, 2010. More than 200 million gallons of oil polluted the Gulf of Mexico during the 201 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
PO1 James Masson / U.S. Coast Guard
What’s at Stake
This lawsuit is meant to restore the protections put in place after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout.
The blowout killed 11 men, and resulted in an oil spill that spewed over 130 million gallons of toxic crude into the Gulf, killing billions of individual wildlife species, and decimating the seafood and tourism industries of the Gulf states.
Overview
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration to challenge rollbacks of the 2016 Well Control and Blowout Preventer Rule, a safety regulation meant to prevent another blowout like what happened during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The case filed in the Northern District of California challenges key rollbacks to the safety rule including:
- Weakening performance requirements for blowout preventers
- Eliminating the system of independent safety equipment inspectors
- Grandfathering existing drilling rigs into outdated blowout preventer standards
- Slashing safety equipment testing and inspection standards
Case Updates
June 21, 2021
| In the News: Inside Climate News
As the Gulf of Mexico Heals from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Stringent Safety Proposals Remain Elusive
Chris Eaton, Attorney, Oceans Program, Earthjustice: “It's important to make sure that to the extent that there is oil and gas development still happening, that it's done safely.”
March 5, 2021
| Press Release: Victory
Judge Rules Damning Trump-Era Documents Must Be Released in Well Control Lawsuit
March 4, 2021
| Legal Document
ORDER: Judge Rules Damning Trump-Era Documents Must Be Released in Well Control Lawsuit
April 16, 2020
| From the Experts
