Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Hurricane Alex Hampers Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup

   VOA News 30 June 2010
   Oily waves come ashore in Orange Beach, Alabama, 30 Jun 2010

Photo: AP

   Oily waves come ashore in Orange Beach, Alabama, 30 Jun 2010

   Hurricane  Alex  in the Gulf of Mexico is heading toward the US-Mexico
   border,  far  from the leaking BP oil well, but rough waters generated
   by the storm have hampered cleanup efforts for a second day.
   Forecasters  with the National Hurricane Center say Alex has sustained
   winds of 130 kilometers per hour and is likely to increase in strength
   Wednesday. Â
   It  is  expected to move due west and make landfall near the border of
   Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas late Wednesday or early Thursday.
   A  spokesman with the oil spill response team said the Gulf waters are
   too  rough  for  oil skimming and controlled burn operations.  But he
   said oil containment efforts are continuing.
   Meanwhile,  in Washington, a congressional panel is considering a bill
   that would set strict new safety regulations for offshore drilling. Â
   Democrats on a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce panel who
   authored  the  bill  say  it  calls  for  tougher safety standards and
   inspections  to  ensure  an  accident  like  the current massive spill
   cannot happen again.
   Republicans  on  the committee expressed concern the legislation would
   be  needlessly  broad  and  could  ultimately  hamper the domestic oil
   industry.
   Meanwhile,  the  Senate  Environment  and Public Works Committee voted
   Wednesday  to remove a limit on liability - currently at $75 million -
   that  oil  companies can face for damages stemming from oil spills and
   other accidents.
   President  Barack  Obama  is to tell an audience Wednesday in the U.S.
   state  of  Wisconsin  that the government has a responsibility to hold
   corporations  accountable  for  such  accidents.   In  excerpts  of a
   speech, he strongly criticizes a Republican lawmaker who apologized to
   BP after it came under White House pressure to establish a $20 billion
   victims' compensation fund.
   The  lawmaker,  Representative  Joe Barton, later apologized, in turn,
   for that comment.
   An  April  20  explosion  on  a rig leased by BP killed 11 workers and
   caused  the leak that has been pouring tens of thousands of barrels of
   crude each day into the Gulf.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

   Related report by VOA's Elizabeth Lee

.