Congressman Led Efforts to Reveal True Rate of Spill, Releases Timeline of Flow Rate Issues
 
WASHINGTON (May 29, 2012) – A report by the Wall Street Journal indicates that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating BP for possibly lying to Congress about the rate of oil flowing out of the company’s blown-out Macondo well during the Gulf spill in 2010. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who was the leading force pressing BP to reveal the true size and extent of the spill, today pledged his support for any government actions by the Justice Department and others to hold BP accountable.
 
Rep. Markey held the closed-door briefing on May 4, 2010 which is reportedly a focus of DOJ’s investigation. At that briefing, representatives from BP answered a question from Rep. Markey on the size of the spill, saying the worst-case scenario could be 60,000 barrels per day, with an expected flow rate between 5,000 and 40,000 barrels per day. Video of a press conference where Rep. Markey and others recap the meeting is available HERE.
 
“At the time of the spill, it was clear that when it came to the size of the problem, BP stood for beyond prevarication, constantly underestimating or hiding the true size of the spill,” said Rep. Markey. “BP must be held to account for their actions and for the amount of oil they spilled into the Gulf. Billions of dollars in fines are potentially at stake, and the U.S. government will not back down.”

Rep. Markey also released a timeline of actions he and others on the House Energy and Commerce Committee took to reveal the size of the spill, and BP’s responses and actions at the time, which is available HERE.