Reactions to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Reactions to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Reactions to the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill from various officials and interested parties ranged from blame and outrage at the damage caused by the spill, to calls for greater accountability on the part of the U.S. government and BP, including new legislation dealing with preventative security and clean-up improvements. On 30 April 2010, President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to delay issuing new offshore drilling leases until a thorough review determined whether more safety systems were needed and authorized teams to investigate 29 oil rigs in the Gulf in an effort to
Oil spill governance in the United States oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico suggest more can and should have been done in this area. Evidence of this fact is present in the recommendations and investigations present in the January 2011 report by the recently established National Oil Spill Commission. A further sign of lack of proper governance is implicit in the action of the federal government to rename and reform the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into the now Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill served as a major focal point in oil spill governance and reform. Prior to