from Reuters)
- A U.S. judge has decided that BP Plc (BP.L) was “grossly negligent” and “reckless” in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill four years ago, a ruling that could add nearly $18 billion in fines to more than $42 billion in charges the company took for the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history.
BP said it would appeal Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, Louisiana, who held a trial without a jury last year to determine who was responsible for the April 20, 2010 rig explosion and spill that killed 11 workers and spewed oil for nearly three months onto the shorelines of several states.
There you go, BP. Keep whining about people being mean to you
This comes on the heels of Halliburton being ordered to pay $1.1 billion to Gulf Coast residents, local governments and businesses affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, moving to limit its liabilities ahead of a court ruling that could have increased its costs.
The settlement announced Tuesday by the company and plaintiffs' lawyers includes claims for punitive damages brought by the commercial fishing industry and others affected by the spilled crude.
The amount is less than the $1.3 billion Halliburton has set aside for its costs stemming from the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Some legal analysts say the settlement will eliminate most of the oil-field-services company's liability from the incident. (source WSJ http://online.wsj.com/articles/halliburton-to-settle-deepwater-horizon-claims-for-1-1-billion-1409664524)
Four years after that horrific accident there are still signs that the Gulf still isn't right. From" MNN.com:
Findings from the NWF's report include the following:
More than 900 bottlenose dolphins have been found dead or stranded in the area of the spill since April 2010, which is more than scientists have seen in the past decade. Area dolphins are also underweight and anemic and show signs of liver and lung diseases.
About 500 dead sea turtles have been found in the region annually since 2011. All five species of sea turtles in the Gulf are listed as threatened or endangered.
Nearly 1,000 brown pelicans have been collected since the spill and half of them have died.
Other coastal birds have increased concentrations of toxic oil compounds in their blood.
Sperm whales that swam near the spill have higher levels of DNA-damaging metals, such as nickel and chromium, in their bodies than they did before the spill.
Despite these findings, BP, the British oil company responsible for the spill, says the report "is a piece of political advocacy — not science."
Read more: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/4-years-after-gulf-oil-spill-wildlife-still-dying#ixzz3COFzmYX0
