To BP: The meter’s running — you spill it, you buy it (Rep. Chellie Pingree)

My legislation would force BP — and any other oil company in the future — to
pay royalties on all the oil it spills. It’s not enough to have them
pay for the environmental damage; they need to be held responsible for
the very limited, very valuable natural resource they are wasting. BP
has leased the right to drill oil belonging to the American people, and I
think that whether they refine it or spill it, they still owe us for
it.

The tool on my website uses an estimate of the gallons of oil being
spilled each day along with royalties of about $13 a barrel to track
just how large that amount is becoming. It’s easy to share on Facebook,
Twitter
or by email, and embed on your own website or blog, too.

Why do we need this royalties legislation? The current law holds oil
companies responsible for spilled oil only when they are found to be
negligent. Unfortunately, this may happen only after a lengthy legal
process. It leaves a lot of room for these companies to find loopholes
and a lot of time before the American people receive payment, if any,
for their lost property.

The process should be automatic and timely. The numbers on my web
ticker show just how much we could be using on pressing priorities,
including developing clean energy sources like offshore wind and tidal
power.  

What’s more, we need to send oil companies a message that after years of
relaxed regulation we are going to start holding them accountable and
watching them closely. For example, getting clear numbers from BP on
how much oil they have spilled has ended in nothing but frustration — this
legislation would give us legal leverage to force them to provide hard,
accurate numbers.    

Every day that we wake up to headlines of the worsening spill is another
reminder that we need to change our energy system. Not only does our
dependence on oil make us take terrible risks with our environment, but
we don’t have enough tools to hold responsible the companies we trust
with this dangerous gamble. Only an oil company would be allowed to
waste billions of dollars’ worth of a resource they don’t own — causing
untold devastation — and then make a case for why they shouldn’t pay for
it.

This legislation takes a small step in the right direction, and this
ticker shows an ever-rising number that the American people shouldn’t
pick up the tab for any longer.  

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post