Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Jan. 21, 2015
BP oil spill trial: Feds call more witnesses Wednesday
By Jennifer Larino, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 21, 2015
“The U.S. government will call on several more witnesses starting Wednesday morning (Jan. 21) to help bolster its argument that BP should pay the maximum $13.7 billion fine for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.” (Read More)
Judge in BP trial raises prospect of big penalty paid in installments
By Daniel Gilbert, The Wall Street Journal. Jan. 21, 2015
“A federal judge signaled Tuesday that he may allow BP to pay pollution fines over time rather than in a lump sum, as the company and government lawyers sparred over billions of dollars in possible penalties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.” (Read More)
BP oil spill caused ‘serious and widespread’ harm to Gulf Coast communities, expert testifies
By Jennifer Larino, The Times-Picayune. Jan. 21, 2015
“The BP oil spill disrupted Gulf Coast residents’ way of life in a surprising and unfamiliar disaster that ‘caused serious and widespread sociocultural harm to coastal communities,’ an anthropology expert testified for the Justice Department on Tuesday.” (Read More)
BP back in court for final phase of Gulf oil spill trial
By Debbie Elliott, NPR. Jan. 20, 2015
“The government is asking a New Orleans federal judge to impose a stiff financial penalty on oil giant BP for the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history.” (Read More)
BP judge urged to impose $11.7 billion-plus spill fine
By Daniel Lawton & Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg. Jan. 20, 2015
“The penalty is going to have to be high enough for companies of their size to even notice it, but not high enough to be ruinous to their operations,” O’Rourke told U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in his opening statement. “It has to be high enough so massive companies like Anadarko and BP will be deterred.” (Read More)
Third BP trial begins with nearly $14 billion at stake
By Rob Mason, 19 Action News. Jan. 20, 2015
“The U.S. Justice Department began its fight in federal court Tuesday to try and get BP to pay billions of dollars to restore the coast.” (Read More)