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By Shayndi Raice Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A top government scientist surveying the damage to the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill said the final tally of oil flow rates will not be known for a long time. In testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt responded to questioning about the rate of oil flowing spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, saying that her agency is focused right now on responding to the disaster, but that ultimately, the flow rate will need to be known. Last week, a team led by government scientists trying to measure the well flow rate announced that about 20,000 to 40,000 barrels a day of oil could be spewing into the Gulf, far more than an initial estimate of 1,000 barrels a day. Aside from the environmental significance of the flow rate, the final tally of oil spewing into the ocean will determine how much BP PLC (BP, BP.LN)) must pay for damage to the environment. "Damage recovery will not be determined until very far down the road when we actually believe we can calculate what the damage to the environment has been," she said. Flow rates are currently determined by watching video of oil pouring into the ocean. House members also grilled David Kennedy, acting assistant administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to determine how underfunding of the agency contributed to its lack of study in the area of oil spill disasters. "Our feeling for some time has been that capacity, if it were stretched by a very significant spill, could certainly compromise our ability to respond," Kennedy said. Kennedy was criticized by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, (D., N.H.) for not being more aggressive about budget cuts that the agency knew were affecting its capabilities. "If you knew and feared this, and others in your job feared this, I think the response should have been a lot greater than it was," she said. The BP-owned well has been spewing oil for nearly two months, dirtying the shores of four states and threatening to cause environmental and economic devastation in the region. -By Shayndi Raice, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2672; shayndi.raice@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 13:23 ET (17:23 GMT)