On October 1, the 5 million barrel Gulf Deepwater Horizon spill finally moves on from
emergency response. The rogue well is officially dead. Most of the
booms are gone. 87% of the Gulf is open for fishing, and further
reopenings are expected. The US government is wrapping up their
National Incident Command, and Admiral Thad Allan (who ran the
response) will finally get to retire. Lisa Jackson's
Environmental Protection Agency is taking over lead responsibility
for the ongoing federal response to the spill, focussing on
assessing the damage and restoring the damaged ecosystems.
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It will take many years to understand the total impact of this
spill, the largest man-made environmental catastrophe in US
history. Beach oiling is expected to recur this winter, as storms
roil contaminated sediments. Long term impacts are likely to
include:
