The staff of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling said today that “production trumped safety” at the ill-fated Macondo well and that public oversight was hamstrung by "political and industry pressure.” In response, Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, made the following statement:

“This is a searing indictment of the companies involved and the public authorities all Americans rely on to protect our oceans, our coasts and our people. BP and its partners were allowed to expose the Gulf to grave and needless risk through a long train of flawed decisions and operational blunders, which were wholly preventable. Now the Gulf and its people are paying the price.”