The Gulf Oil Spill and National Marine Sanctuaries

摘要

The two national marine sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico underscore the multiplicity of liabilities that BP could face if the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ends up damaging and destroying natural resources throughout the Gulf of Mexico, as it still well could, despite the fact that no new oil appears to be entering the Gulf from the Deepwater Horizon site. Indeed, the federal Endangered Species Act75 and Marine Mammal Protection Act76 are likely already part of the BP liability calculus, given the suspicious deaths of sea turtles and dolphins in the Gulf, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act may well have a similar role to play.