Many of us will long remember the explosion that occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform operating in the MC 252 area on April 20, 2010. As the largest oil spill in U.S. history, it triggered an unprecedented response from a host of federal and state agencies, including the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

Appointed by the Governor as the state trustee, MDEQ and its staff have worked around the clock since that day, addressing and documenting the damage done to our natural resources. Now that the well is effectively capped the state must assess the damage to our natural resources and implement a comprehensive and aggressive effort to restore the Gulf Coast.

Mississippians understand that the health and economy of the Gulf Coast region is dependent on the health of the Gulf of Mexico.  MDEQ will do everything in its power to make sure that the responsible party’s are held accountable for the damage caused by the 2010 oil spill and they do everything in their power to restore our precious coastline to what it was before.