Ocean Conservancy's Executive Vice President Dennis Takahashi-Kelso's Statement on the Temporary Capping of the BP Deepwater Horizon Well

Washington, DC — Dennis Takahashi-Kelso, Ocean Conservancy's Executive Vice President, issued the following statement in response to the announcement that BP had capped the well and for the time being the oil has ceased to flow:


"After some eighty-seven days, news that oil has stopped gushing into the ocean is an enormous relief. We will await the full results of integrity tests to learn if the Macondo well will remain shut, but the recent developments are a very positive step forward."

"Earlier this week I was on the water in Bay Jimmy, Louisiana, viewing the devastation this tragedy has inflicted on the Gulf ecosystem. The impacts of BP's disaster will be felt for decades."

"BP's obligations in the Gulf of Mexico do not end with stopping the flow of oil: they are only just beginning. The President must be relentless in ensuring that BP does not walk away from the communities of the Gulf, or the fragile ocean ecosystem that has come under assault from tens of millions of gallons of oil. BP must be held to account year after year after year for the long-term consequences of this tragedy."

"The challenge we now face is to restore and enhance the Gulf ecosystem and make the people and wildlife affected by the spill whole. Ocean Conservancy will continue its longstanding commitment to the Gulf, and will work with local communities to achieve that goal."

Takahashi-Kelso was Alaska Commissioner of Environmental Conservation at the time of the Exxon Valdez spill. A few hours after the Valdez ran aground, Takahashi-Kelso boarded the tanker to assess the environmental impact and began enforcing clean-up standards. For the next two years, he worked in the spill area, in the state legislature, and in Congress to strengthen Alaska's environmental laws and to advocate passage of the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

You can learn more about the Ocean Conservancy by clicking HERE

Now as happy as I was to hear that the cap is working and has stopped the gusher, there's still one question left to ask.  How long will it take to get a permanent fix to this disaster? Hmmmmm