Joint Panel Meets Outside New Orleans To Investigate Spill

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – The hearings are being conducted by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Testimony is expected from BP and rig owner Transocean of Houston. The panel will be looking at pressure testing of the well, how decisions were reached and what safety improvements can be ordered. A Coast Guard official has testified that the evacuation of the burning Deepwater Horizon rig went fairly well. Eleven workers were killed when the rig exploded April 20, while more than 100 were rescued. The panel will also be questioning BP officials about their decisions allowing fewer cement anchors on the well than what a company engineer had suggested. Another round of hearings is expected before the panel issues a report on its findings.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.