Frustration with BP Builds
May 25th, 2010 by Mike VasilindaFrustration over the lack of progress capping the oil leak in the Gulf has Governor Charlie Crist on the verge of asking the Federal Government to take over the spill response. Crist made the comments this morning, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, others are questioning BP’s commitment to transparency.
As oil continues to billow from the floor of the Gulf, Oceanographer Ian MacDonald, who was one of the first to question BP’s estimates of the flow, continues to believe the company is underestimating the amount of oil spewing into the water.
“We have the authority, by our own regulation, to insist on accurately measuring this spill rate,” Dr. MacDonald said.
Governor Charlie Crist used the word “frustrated” more than once in a Tuesday morning briefing. He is on the verge of calling for the Federal government to push BP aside and take over the response.
“It’s fraught with a lot of questions, obviously,” Crist said. “It’s a very frustrating situation for everybody.”
The frustration moved into the oval office on Saturday. That’s when President Obama named former US Senator Bob Graham to co-chair a commission on what went wrong.
“I think there’s a set of questions that start before the accident,” Graham said. “Was this drilling rig appropriate for the site in which it was located? Were the proper safety mechanisms installed in initial construction? Were they supervised properly?”
State officials were making another trip to the spill late Tuesday afternoon. A call for more Federal involvement could come sooner than later.
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