On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire erupted on an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico called the Deepwater Horizon, which had just completed an exploratory well 52 miles from shore in 4,992 feet of water. Eleven members of the crew are missing and presumed dead. The remainder of the crew abandoned the rig and was rescued by a nearby supply vessel, the Damon Bankston. The fire destroyed the rig, which sank on April 22, 2010. The resulting oil spill has been declared ―a spill of national significance‖ and could become one of the oil industry’s gravest disasters. Crude oil continues to flow from a broken pipe on the seafloor, has spread across thousands of square miles, and is damaging local economies, sensitive coastlines and wildlife throughout the Gulf region. On April 30, 2010, the President directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a thorough review of this event and to report, within 30 days, on ―what, if any, additional precautions and technologies should be required to improve the safety of oil and gas exploration and production operations on the outer continental shelf.‖ This report responds to the President’s directive.