Department of Justice investigating spill

WASHINGTON — Calling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the “greatest environmental disaster of its kind,” President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to prosecute those responsible.
“If our laws were broken, leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice ,” Obama said.
The president delivered those words as Attorney General Eric Holder announced a federal investigation into whether criminal or civil laws were violated in connection with the spill.
The government must “ensure that anyone found responsible for this spill is held accountable,” Holder said, after touring the Gulf and meeting with federal and state prosecutors. “That means enforcing the appropriate civil — and, if warranted, criminal — authorities to the full extent of the law.”
Holder last month dispatched Justice Department lawyers to the spill region to explore whether laws had been broken. Investigators have directed BP and other companies to preserve documents related to the disaster. Although government officials would not say who was being targeted in the criminal investigation, the probe could center on actions by well owner BP and rig owner Transocean.
BP said in a statement that it “will cooperate with any inquiry that the Department of Justice undertakes, just as we are doing in response to the other inquiries that already are ongoing.”
A Transocean spokesman said the company continues cooperating with authorities looking into the Deepwater Horizon incident, adding that it hadn't been named in any criminal investigation.
Holder said Justice Department lawyers were investigating a wide range of possible violations under a number of federal statutes, including clean water laws and the Endangered Species Act, which provides fines and prison time for people found guilty of harming or killing some wildlife.
BP bumped at briefings
The tough talk from Obama and Holder marks a shift in tone by the administration following criticism the White House has given BP too much power in managing the spill response.
White House and BP officials have tangled over the prospect that crude could begin flowing faster from the underwater gusher — at least temporarily — as the company cuts a stack of riser pipes in the first stage of its latest attempt to contain the leaking oil. When White House Energy Adviser Carol Browner said there could be a 20 percent boost in the flow of oil, BP officials downplayed the assertion.
The administration also put some distance between the White House and BP when it decided to push company officials out of daily briefings on the spill response. U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen will now conduct those briefings on his own, without sharing the stage with BP executives.
While BP and government officials were beginning a risky “cut-and-cap” operation to contain the crude Tuesday, Obama was vowing a robust investigation of what went wrong when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 — and to determine what regulatory lapses may have contributed to the disaster.
“We owe all those who have been harmed, as well as future generations, a full and vigorous accounting of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in U.S. history,” the president said. “We have an obligation to investigate what went wrong and to determine what reforms are needed so that we never have to experience a crisis like this again.”
Commission co-chairs
As he delivered his remarks in the Rose Garden, Obama was flanked by the newly appointed co-chairmen of a bipartisan commission tasked with investigating the oil spill: former Florida Sen. Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly.
Graham is a Democratic former governor of Florida who served three terms in the Senate. Obama said Graham “earned a reputation as a champion of the environment, leading the most extensive environmental protection effort in (Florida's) history.”
Reilly, a Republican, currently serves as a director of ConocoPhillips, and is chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund. His tenure heading the EPA overlapped with the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill near Alaska. The president described Reilly as “deeply knowledgeable of the oil and gas industry.”
Obama is expected to announce five other commission members soon; the president said his appointees will be “leaders in science and engineering.”
Report in 6 months
They could include people with deep ties to the oil and gas industry. Under Obama's May 22 executive order establishing the commission, the seven-member panel is to include members “with experience in or representing the scientific, engineering and environmental communities, the oil and gas industry, or any other area” the president deems appropriate.
The commission is tasked with finishing its report within six months, and its recommendations could change the future of oil and gas drilling in the United States.
Chronicle reporter Tom Fowler contributed to this report.
jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com
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