Stop EPA Use of Chemical Oil Spill Dispersants

The Surfrider Foundation and Gulf Coast Advocates and Allies joined in coalition in September, 2021 to demand immediate action from EPA Administrator Regan regarding the usage of oil spill dispersants.  The Surfrider Foundation and partners are asking that the EPA comply with recent court decisions and develop an updated (2021) scientifically based rulemaking on dispersants with a final rule in place by May 31, 2023.

Following the largest oil spill in history, the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, 200 million gallons of oil were dispersed into the Gulf of Mexico killing wildlife, damaging economies and recreation, and fouling beaches from Louisiana to Florida. Toxic chemical dispersants were used as part of the spill response measures. These hazardous chemicals break oil into droplets making them more easily mixed with water, less buoyant, and easier for oil-eating microbes to break down. 

The dispersants used in the Gulf Deep Horizon spill were staged in public marinas and neighborhoods; sprayed in Gulf waters used for recreation and fishing; disposed of in several municipal landfills; and used well beyond the official end date of July 2010.  In fact, almost 1 million gallons of dispersant were sprayed aerially and 770,000 gallons were injected into the damaged wellhead on the sea bottom[1]. These chemical dispersants also created a 22 mile long oil plume formed from chemical dispersants mixed with sea water and increasing the area oil traveled and therefore impact zone by 49 percent[2].

Many oil spill responders and those living in these coastal communities today are suffering with long-term diseases, cancers, and early deaths linked to exposure to these toxins making this an environmental justice issue[3].

In June 2020, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick ruled, as part of this case, that the Clean Water Act imposes on the EPA a mandatory duty to maintain an up-to-date oil spill response plan that reflects current science and technology. This includes science demonstrating that dispersant chemicals are far more toxic to humans — and more ecologically damaging — than their manufacturers admit. Today’s further ruling by Judge Orrick declares that the EPA violated that duty by failing to update the regulations in more than 25 years, despite significant advancements in both scientific and technological knowledge. The ruling also finds that the EPA violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to finalize its 2015 draft regulations in a timely manner despite two long-pending petitions by plaintiffs requesting this update.

The EPA must now update and finalize its regulations by May 31, 2023. In light of the agency’s past dereliction, the court further ordered the EPA to file status reports every 180 days.

Full damages to communities are uncertain and yet the EPA issued and finalized only one part of a 2015 final rule relating to dispersant monitoring for deep sea and prolonged use.

UPDATE: 

September, 2021- The Surfrider Foundation alongside other Gulf Coast Advocates and Allies in a coaliton urgently asked that the EPA update the National Oil and Hazardous Pollutant Contingency Plan [NCP] rules on dispersant use.

The Surfrider Foundation and Gulf Coast Advocates and Allies joined in coalition again to demand immediate attention and action from EPA Administrator Regan on the following items regarding chemical oil spill dispersents:

                                 1. Let the August 9, 2021, court decision stand – do not appeal it

                                2. Withdraw the final rule issued July 27, 2021 before it goes into effect on 1.24.2022

                                3. Immediately reopen the 2015 rulemaking with a 45-day public comment period to include relevant science from 2015 to 2021

                                4. Issue the final rule in its entirety by the court-ordered deadline of May 31, 2023