Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
What the EPA hath sought to take away from BP, the US Coast Guard hath given back.
Remember the May 26 Directive that, well, directed BP to “eliminate the surface application of dispersants” except in “rare cases when there may have to be an exemption” and where BP submits a written request and receives an exemption in writing from the Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC, currently Admiral James Watson of the Coast Guard)?
Naturally, I was curious about the nature and number of such exemptions, given that, as I noted earlier, surface application of dispersants has continued since the May 26 Directive. After I (and others, I expect) made inquiries a couple of weeks ago to get copies of the written requests from BP and written approvals from the FOSC, the Coast Guard has informed me that it has posted these documents on the Deepwater Horizon response website.
These documents reveal that, as of June 30 (the last day for which a document has been posted as of this writing), more than 40 exemption requests have been submitted – and approved. These exemptions have allowed surface application of dispersant to occur virtually every day since the Directive was issued.
The documents also hold some other interesting details as to the rationales offered for the exemptions and the nature of the approvals. Read More »