A recent study by NOAA revealed an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that began 14 years ago when a Taylor Energy Company oil platform sank during Hurricane Ivan has been releasing as much as 4,500 gallons a day, not three or four gallons a day as the rig owner has claimed.

It has been documented that the spill is oiling sargassum and harming animals like sea turtles that rely on it for food and shelter, but we don’t know the full extent of the ecological damage from this massive spill.

Please contact your members of Congress, asking them to hold Taylor Energy accountable for their pollution and launch an investigation to determine the root causes of 14 years of inaction.

 

Oil sheen from the spill off the coast of Louisiana. Photo by Healthy Gulf.

The Taylor Energy site is a series of wells located 12 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana, that are leaking as much as 4,500 gallons of oil into the Gulf every day for the past 14 years.

Recent efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard have contained most of the oil from reaching the surface, where it does major damage to dolphins, fish, birds, turtles and the waters of our Gulf. They have been collecting 1,000 – 1,300 gallons per day. We commend the Coast Guard for taking action and containing the oil spilling from the ocean floor, but this containment device is temporary and a more permanent solution is necessary.

The fact that this company was able to leak oil into U.S. waters for nearly 15 years is horrifyingly unacceptable, and the government must take action to find a solution and end this leak. Please join us in asking Congress to:

(1) Hold Taylor Energy accountable for the 15 years they have been spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico by beginning the process of assessing Clean Water Act fines and completing a Natural Resource Damage Assessment. (To date, Taylor Energy has not been fined a single dime under the Clean Water Act.)

(2) Convene a congressional oversight hearing to determine why this company was allowed to get away with this for nearly 15 years. American people deserve to know why this was not remedied sooner and need assurance that this will never be allowed to happen in the future.

Please email your members of Congress to ask that they support for the sensible next steps outlined above.