As the bill spills

As the casket for the climate bill closes, both the house and senate switch gears as they release bills concerning the oil disaster in the gulf. These bills will attempt to amp up regulation of drilling procedures, as well as to regulate drilling operations more strictly. Liability caps for these oil companies will also be eliminated, allowing such groups to be fully and financially accountable for any infringement on the ecosystem. Kate Sheppard with Mother Jones, discusses the main topics of the bill as follows:

• Eliminates the $75 million liability cap for offshore oil spills.


• Amends the Death on High Seas Act to eliminate the cap on liability for workers who die at sea.


• Repeals the Limitation of Shipowner's Liability Act of 1851, which Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean tried to use to curb its liability for the incident.


• Holds oil company CEOs accountable for safety failures on rigs and drilling operations.


• Sets tougher standards for inspection of blowout preventers and other equipment intended to shut off wells in the event of an emergency, and require independent certification by a third party.


• Requires more layers of redundancy on safety equipment to close wells in case of an accident.


• Sets new standards for the cementing and casing of wells.


• Raises penalties for safety violations.


• Requires all companies drilling in the outer continental shelf to pay royalties on oil and gas, a measure that sponsors say would bring in $53 billion dollars in lost revenue over 25 years.


• Ends the practice of granting categorical exclusions to detailed environmental analysis for offshore operations.


• Adds protections for whistleblowers who call attention to safety violations in oil and gas operations.


• Bars companies with poor safety record from obtaining new leases.

According to Sheppard, the last discussion point of the bill will be the most effective. "The measure that would bar oil companies with a history of safety violations from bidding on new leases is among the most aggressive; the measure, sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), would essentially block BP from new drilling in the US for the foreseeable future. Any company that racks up more than $10 million in fines for air or water violations within seven years, has at least five times the industry average on worker safety violations, or more than 10 fatalities at an individual facility would be barred from bidding. This, of course, is very bad news for BP. "Their record on safety is egregious," said Miller. "We need to assure American people we're only allowing responsible bidders."

With liability caps out of reach and an increased stringency in the off-shore oil drilling market, this could possibly be one giant step for mankind.