An Evaluation of US Federal Oil Spill Regulations: Deepwater Horizon vs. Bouchard B120

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the background, impacts and treatment of two major oil spills and investigate the appropriateness of existing environmental policies and any need for new and/or different policies. The study traces the growth of relevant policy development and looks at historic and contemporary policy changes and applies this to the in-depth examination of the Bouchard B120 and the Deepwater Horizon spills. Policy recommendations are made based on conclusions drawn from the examination of the two case studies. It is recommended that a new classification system be implemented so that each company in the oil industry is appropriately and equally monitored. An important conclusion of this study is that successful oil spill policy is one that stresses preventative measures and is well-enforced by the appropriate agency.