Previous reports in the NY Times detailed BP's mistakes. And as noted before, Robert Kaluza, BP's top man on the rig, has invoked the Fifth Amendment and so far refused to testify.

The forthcoming Criminal investigation by Congress will show, as Ebbie notes, that there will be blame to go around. Certainly Transoceans own reports are very damaging to their image.

Don T., it would help if you got the timeline straight. From the selection of light-weight drill pipe to the handling of the drilling mud to the failure to properly test the BOP on the rig (not done fully since 2000), etc. this well, as one Transocean employee had told his wife, was the well from Hell. He was killed in the explosion.

And yes, the regulatory agency was derelict in its duty and the head was fired. We can hope that the reorganized agency will work.

I expect the accumulation of reports and subsequent hearings to go on for a long time.

Loss of tourist dollars over the next three years is now estimated at $23 billion alone, more than BP is trying to raise to pay damages.
According to a new study launched by the U. S. Travel Assn. and facilitated by Oxford Economics "the region is on the precipice of unimaginable tourism losses and financial ruin.
July 23, 2010, "Gulf Girds for $22.7 Billion Tourism loss..." Glenn Haussman.
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=17659