MNN - Mother Nature Network

In prepared remarks, Costner said, "I come before you as a discouraged U.S. citizen and an entrepreneur with a partial solution to the tragedy unfolding in the Gulf."

 

The 55-year-old actor explained the technology behind this Ocean Therapy Solutions business — a venture started by him and his brother Dan some 20 years ago. Costner bought the design for his centrifuge system — which separates oil from water under high pressure — from the Department of Energy (DOE) after witnessing the horrors of the Exxon Valdez spill.

 

To date, he's sunk some $26 million of his own cash into the development of the technology.

 

Costner admitted that his centrifuges might not make much of a dent with the current oil spill in the Gulf, but could certainly help with the many small oil spills that occur annually.

 

"We are all at fault here," Costner said. "It's just too easy to blame BP. What we need to do now is come together. What I can provide is a technology that is available immediately, a technology that will allow rigs to resume operation and put people back to work."

 

BP has been working with Costner's company to test 26 of their centrifuges in the Gulf cleanup. The most recent try in a marsh off the Louisiana coast failed when one of the units became clogged. After some tweaking, BP plans to give the devices another shot later this week.

 

via NY Daily News