"We believe industry's current safety and environmental statistics demonstrate that the voluntary programs…continue to be very successful." - BP last year
That was one in a series of clashes between the industry and federal regulators that began during the Clinton administration. In 2000, the federal agency that oversaw oil rig safety issued a safety alert that called added layers of backup "an essential component of a deepwater drilling system." The agency said operators were expected to have multiple layers of protection to prevent a spill. ...In a March 2003 report, the agency reversed course, and said that layer of protection was no longer needed.
Why bother?
"Despite spending $2 billion dollars and using every known clean-up method there was, they recovered 8 percent of the spilled Exxon Valdez oil..."
