Six Months Later, A Call to Action
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation
On the six-month anniversary of the BP oil disaster, National Wildlife Federation partnered with dozens of organizations – including national environmental groups, local community associations and the fishing industry – to call for congressional action in response to the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.
At the rally in New Orleans, participants spoke in support of the Weeks Bay Principles, a set of response and recovery goals signed by 37 organizations across the Gulf in October at a gathering in Alabama convened by the Gulf Restoration Network. The principles call for the government to commit to six broad actions, including holding BP accountable, making coastal communities whole again and committing to cleaning up and restoring the Gulf.
What can Congress do today?
Our organizations have asked Congress, when it convenes in November, to take action on the following requests:
- 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties charged to BP for the disaster should be directed to the Gulf region for recovery.
- Establishment of a Regional Citizen Advisory Council (similar to the citizen council established after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska) to ensure meaningful input from affected communities.
The rally in New Orleans was one of 11 held across the Gulf to mark the six-month anniversary of the BP oil disaster.