House Groundswell Against Atlantis Amps Up

Food & Water Watch Pressures Feds to Tell BP to Take its Business Elsewhere
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

Washington, D.C.—“This week, in a letter to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE), Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and 17 other members of Congress called on the agencies to halt operation on BP’s Atlantis oil and gas facility until it can be proven safe to operate. We applaud Representative Slaughter, the influential Chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules, and her colleagues for taking a stand against this ticking time bomb.

“Among those who signed on to the letter were 8 members of the House who had not previously spoken out against the facility.  To date, thirty-six legislators have questioned the continued unsafe operation of Atlantis. This opposition reaffirms Food & Water Watch’s campaign to protect the Gulf and Gulf Coast communities from a potential environmental disaster many times worse than that created by BP’s Horizon platform.

“Slaughter’s letter also rightly takes aim at BOEMRE for dragging its feet on its investigation of Atlantis. We hope that this reproach will inspire BOEMRE to swiftly and completely conduct its investigation of the facility’s possible safety deficiencies.

“The issues highlighted by Slaughter also reinforce criticisms of BP by Food & Water Watch to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In a letter sent to EPA this week, we called on the agency to debar BP from contracting with the federal government. From Texas City to Prudhoe Bay, from the Horizon to the Atlantis, BP has demonstrated little regard for public safety and the stewardship of natural resources. It should be blocked from further business with the government before it can inflict any more damage.”

Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch: (202) 683-2500, kfried(at)fwwatch(dot)org.