Efforts to stem the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Efforts to stem the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Efforts to stem the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill were ongoing from the time that the "Deepwater Horizon" exploded on 4/20/2010 until the well was sealed by a cap on July 15, 2010. Various species of dolphins and other mammals (61 casualties), birds (2,095 casualties), and the endangered sea turtles (467 casualties) have been killed either directly or indirectly by the oil spill. The "Deepwater Horizon" spill has surpassed in volume the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill as the largest ever to originate in U.S.-controlled waters; it is comparable to the 1979 Ixtoc
Refugio oil spill the water. After struggling to find the leaking pipeline, workers located Line 901 where it had leaked and flowed into the storm culvert around 1:30pm. Clean-up efforts didn't begin for 16 to 18 hours. Company officials in Bakersfield who were responsible for notifying the National Response Center did not do so until 2:56pm. The Center, staffed by United States Coast Guard officers and marine science technicians, is the sole federal point of contact for reporting all hazardous substances releases and oil spills. An oil spill triggers mandatory federal notification requirements in a timely manner but company officials said they were