Markey to BP: Show Your Work on Smaller Spill Claims

Chairman Sends Letter to BP CEO Bob Dudley

December 3, 2010 - Responding to new claims from BP that the government estimates of the size of the Gulf of Mexico spill are too large, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to the CEO of the company asking for all materials related to his company's new position.

"BP's new claim that the spill is much smaller than previously thought flies in the face of multiple lines of evidence, and raises questions whether this is a scientific finding, or a litigious position," writes Representative Markey to Bob Dudley. Representative Markey asks in the letter for emails, correspondence, meeting minutes or other materials related to their new position.

Representative Markey had previously called on BP to accept the government's Flow Rate Technical Group's estimates, so the federal government could engage in the task of determining BP's final fines for the accident. The federal government engaged independent scientists and used multiple, unrelated techniques to arrive at its flow-rate estimate. Additional independent peer-reviewed studies have corroborated the conclusions.

Today's letter can be found HERE.