WA Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell
Credit: Washington Democrats


– Editor’s Note:
BRAVO to Senators Cantwell & Murray for their leadership on introducing this legislation to protect out coastal waters for future generations.


– “Senators Cantwell & Murray Introduce Clean Coast Act”
“On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray introduced the Clean Coast Act, legislation that codifies rules that were finalized by the Department of the Interior in 2016 to address key safety recommendations made after the devastating oil spill.

“As a reminder, the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill was a catastrophic human, economic, and ecological disaster. It resulted in the deaths of 11 crew members and the injury of 17 more. Oil gushed into the ocean for months, making it the largest marine oil spill ever.

“Unfortunately, last year Donald Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of the Interior to reconsider the common-sense safety recommendations made in the aftermath of the disaster, in order to prioritize oil and gas exploration and production.

“‘President Trump has ordered the roll back of common-sense solutions to improve safety and prevent oil spills,’ said Senator Cantwell. ‘Friday [April 20] marks the eighth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and today [April 19] I have introduced legislation to prevent tragedies like that from happening again.’

“Senator Murray said, ‘Communities in Washington state and across the country who depend on our healthy coasts for their food, recreation and livelihood would be devastated by an event like the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, and President Trump’s move to reverse rules that help keep people safe and protect our ecosystem against such disasters is a huge step in the wrong direction,'” by by Washington State Democrats.”


Blogger Klein is a Washington Democrats member.