Rep. Markey: 'Substantial amounts of oil' may still be leaking at Deepwater Horizon site

Speaking to CBS News for a segment aired Thursday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) claimed that "substantial amounts of oil" may still be leaking from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon, resting at the epicenter of the worst accidental oil spill in human history.

"My concern is that substantial amounts of oil could still be leaking from the wreckage," Markey said, commenting on appearing in the Gulf of Mexico in recent months. "Back in 2010 I said that BP was either lying or incompetent. Turns out they were doing both. This is the same crime scene."

Rep. Markey led Congress in the investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 men and initiated one of the worst environmental disasters in history. He played a key role in pressuring former CEO Tony Hayward to resign and championed the record-breaking settlement the U.S. extracted from the company.

BP agreed to pay $4.5 billion last month to settle civil and criminal charges stemming from the 2010 spill. It could still face billions more in environmental restoration costs, which have yet to be fully assessed. The company has also been temporarily suspended from applying for new drilling contracts in the U.S.

“Two years after the worst environmental disaster in America's history ended, oil is still being dredged up by storms and recently leaked from wreckage at the bottom of the Gulf," Markey said in November. "This settlement may have closed a chapter of this disaster with the government, but we still have a responsibility to monitor the lingering effects from the spill and put in place new laws that reduce the likelihood of such a catastrophe occurring ever again."

This video is from "CBS This Morning," aired Thursday, December 13, 2012.

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Photo: Screenshot via YouTube.