Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Linn Grubbstrom
Talk Radio News Service

Bob Abbey, acting head of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS), told lawmakers on Thursday that the federal government must deeply probe how prepared it and oil companies are to handle massive oil spills.

"There is no doubt that the spill response plans that have been previously submitted by the operators in the outer continental shelf will need to be reviewed and amended based upon the lessons that we now have learned," Abbey told members of a House Natural Resources Subcommittee.

Due to BP's inability to cap an oil spill that has flowed from one of its sunken rigs in the Gulf for nearly two months, the oil industry has been heavily criticized of late for not being prepared to combat a deepwater spill of large magnitude.

"The leases and the operators will be required to go back, revisit their spill response plans and come in with something that will give, not only those of us who are now working in the Mineral Management Service but, the American public a little more confidence about their abilities to control or contain a future spill," said Abbey.

Abbey also suggested the federal government allocate more inspectors to check for safety violations on the thousands of deep water rigs located in the Gulf.