“I feel relieved,” he said. “I’ve felt physically sick about this for months now, literally, so even just a small amount of relief is a powerful feeling.”

He’s only cautiously hopeful, though, as he explains that there’s still a serious risk that the build-up of pressure under the oil cap will render it useless and cause another gush of oil into the ocean. Though initial tests have been successful, we won’t know whether the cap is a solution for quite a while.

Somerhalder is so dedicated to his personal B.P. boycott that when he ran out of gas on his way to the filming location that morning, he “cruised on fumes,” passing several B.P. stations, until he finally found a Chevron.

He notes that the cap may be holding at the moment, but this development raises a host of new questions.

“All right, it’s capped for now. There’s no oil coming out. What do we do?” he asks. “Well, first we have to make sure B.P. makes good not only on the promises they’ve made, but on the responsibility that they now have. And I hope the U.S. government doesn’t bow down like they did when the oil was leaking. I hope the government makes B.P. compensate.”