Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force is the organization created by President Barack Obama to recover from the 2010 BP "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill and preserve the ecosystem of the Gulf Coast of the United States. On April 20, 2010 the United States watched as over 200 million gallons of crude oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 BP "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill. For three months various efforts were taken to cap the broken well and were finally successful on September 19, 2010. In the aftermath of this disaster the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill pension fund managers (who have large holdings of BP shares and rely upon its dividends) accepted that while BP had to pay compensation for the spill and the environmental damage, they argued that the cost to the company's market value from President Obama's criticism was far outweighing the direct clean-up costs. Initially, BP downplayed the incident; its CEO Tony Hayward called the amount of oil and dispersant "relatively tiny" in comparison with the "very big ocean." Later, he drew an outpouring of criticism when he said that the spill was a disruption to Gulf Coast residents and himself adding, "You