HOUSTON—On April 20, 2010, an explosion on a deepwater drilling rig 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana launched what could be the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. The Deepwater Horizon, a half-billion dollar rig owned and operated by Swiss-based Transocean, Ltd and leased by British Petroleum PLC (BP), sank, leaving a subsea well spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day.
For over two months residents of the Gulf Coast and around the world have watched with bated breath, waiting for the spill to be capped so that true clean-up and recovery efforts can begin. But it hasn’t happened yet, and news concerning the accident has been mostly bad. Numbers have been fudged, relief missions have failed, blame has been tossed around, and all the while oil continues to spew into once vibrant waters.
In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry has said that the state is prepared to respond to any effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill along the coast. Though oil has yet to reach Texas shores, the State Operations Center has remained at an increased readiness level and the state continues to work with federal and local authorities to track the spill and prepare contingency plans. The Office of the Governor participates in daily conference calls with the White House, Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and gulf state governors.
If oil does reach Texas, it is expected to be in the form of weathered tar balls, which cannot be prevented by boom deployment and would require aggressive physical removal. Texas’ General Land Office (GLO) has five coastal offices equipped with boats, trucks, trailers, ATVs, skimmers and well-trained staff to assist with response activities.
