Signed, sealed, delivered: 133,501 petitions to #makeBPpay

By Ryan Rastegar and Elizabeth Skree, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign

Today, staff from Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and Earthworks hand delivered 133,501 petitions to the U.S. Department of Justice, urging them to hold BP accountable to the fullest extent of the law for the 2010 gulf oil disaster. You can see a Facebook photo album from the event by clicking the photo below.

Our staff delivering 133,501 petitions to the U.S. Department of Justice, urging them to hold BP accountable for the gulf oil disaster.

Almost three years after the BP oil disaster, the question around BP’s accountability is about to come to a close. With a February 25 trial date looming, BP and the U.S. Department of Justice will either reach a settlement or go to trial within the next two weeks. In either situation, BP must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for one of our nation’s largest environmental disasters. After the death of 11 men, nearly five million barrels of oil spilled, and economic and environmental damages across the gulf, it is the just and right thing to do.

An overwhelming majority of the voting public believes BP’s fines should go toward gulf restoration. Thanks to last year’s bipartisan RESTORE Act, this money will go back to the Gulf Coast states to use for environmental and economic restoration. But while the RESTORE Act is the mechanism, actual restoration cannot begin until BP pays.

What you can do to get involved: If you support our petition delivery, call the Department of Justice’s public comment line at 202-353-1555 and tell them you saw our event and that you, too, support holding BP accountable.