Vermilionaire

Many “conservative” legislators in our federal government are denying that oil spills occurred as a result of Katrina in order to downplay the risks of oil exploration. For example: Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH): “You could almost look at Katrina as a positive example. Although Katrina was a horrific disaster, there was not one barrel of oil spilled as a result of that category five hurricane coming up the gulf and going through New Orleans.” This turns out to not only be untrue, but a bold lie, since Senator Gregg among others were informed by the Department of Homeland Security that “As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita there were six major, five medium, and over 5000 minor oil and hazmat responses. Additional minor spills continue to be identified and addressed. It is estimated that over 9 million gallons of oil was released, and this total does not include oil released from minor spills.“ Read the report here