This Op-Ed was published in the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald on July 30, 2010.
It is only fair that Gulf Coast residents should get the same chance to shape the future of oil and gas development in our region that Alaskans did following the Exxon Valdez spill. Unfortunately, citizens’ councils that have proved effective in guiding responsible development in Alaska are not part of a Gulf of Mexico drilling bill now before Congress. They should be.
For Gulf residents, the BP oil spill has made the problem of unchecked corporate power painfully clear.
