BP Trial Update, Week Seven: BP begins its defense
← Older posts Newer posts →BP Trial Update, Week Seven: BP begins its defense
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund Yesterday concluded the seventh week of trial for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. The week began on Monday with the first day of BP’s formal defense as operator of the troubled oil rig. As in all legal trials, the plaintiffs presented their case first, which was followed by defense teams from Halliburton, Transocean and now BP. In the first six weeks, the federal government and other parties presented evidence demonstrating that BP officials …
Secretary Salazar: Putting Restoration on Steroids
By Amanda Moore, Greater New Orleans Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation On Wednesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar visited Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe, La. for what possibly could be his last public meeting outside of Washington, D.C. Salazar said he was proud to hold the meeting in the Mississippi River Delta, adding that it is “a world-class conservation area for hunting and fishing.” State and local government officials, fishermen and women, and non-profit leaders turned out …
City of New Orleans, National Wildlife Federation host coastal restoration public forum
By Amanda Moore, Greater New Orleans Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation Last Thursday evening, the City of New Orleans hosted their 2nd in a series of coastal restoration public forums. Community members came to hear Drue Banta, Counsel to the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, talk about ways to advance coastal restoration in Louisiana through use of BP oil disaster funds. Ms. Banta spoke to a crowd of about 75 people, including neighborhood leaders, parish officials, landowners, fishermen, legislators, …
BP oil spill trial: Week two
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund As week three of the BP trial continues, observers are seeing trends emerge from inside the courtroom. The plaintiffs are focusing on two primary causes of the massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and ensuing oil spill: lack of adequate safety measures and aggressive cost cutting by BP. The defendant oil companies, namely BP, contend that while mistakes were made, their liability is offset by the negligence of subcontractors who were …
Special to CNN: Make BP pay to restore Gulf
This story was originally posted on CNN. By David Yarnold, President, National Audubon Society Special to CNN Updated 8:01 AM EST, Tue March 5, 2013 (CNN) — BP showed up in court last week, finally, nearly three years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the hell it unleashed on the Gulf Coast. It’s a huge, high-stakes trial, and BP is taking the beating it’s earned. Here’s what’s at stake for America if there is a judgment: potentially tens of billions of dollars that …
BP’s Gulf Oil Spill Trial 101: A Primer
This was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog. By Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, National Wildlife Federation This week was the start of the Deepwater Horizon disaster trial. Remember the start of the disaster itself? Initially, BP was downplaying, denying, and hiding the awful truth: that crude oil, natural gas, and methane hydrates were gushing into one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. For 87 days, I watched as the oil flowed unabated, afraid of what this meant for my …
Courtroom recap: Day 2 of the BP oil spill trial
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund Today marked the second day of the BP oil spill trial, which kicked off with the plaintiffs’ lawyers calling their first two witnesses: Dr. Robert “Bob” Bea, an engineer, and Lamar McKay, Chairman and President of BP America. Dr. Bea is an expert on “process safety,” a field of civil engineering that focuses on preventing catastrophic incidents, like the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the ensuing release of millions …
Send a message to BP: flood their inbox!
Contrary to BP’s PR campaigns, the Gulf is still reeling from the impacts of the oil spill. To make matters worse, BP is trying to dodge accountability. As we enter day 2 of the BP trial, it’s important to keep the pressure on BP to ensure they are fined the maximum penalties possible. We can make that happen by generating thousands of messages from concerned citizens across the country. Flood their inbox! Facebook Go to the BP America Facebook page and click ‘message.’ …
A recap of day 1 of the BP oil spill trial
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund Today, I watched opening statements from inside the courtroom of one of the most complex and high stakes trials in this nation’s history. The first day of the BP trial consisted of nearly six and a half hours of opening statements by both sides of the litigation. Opening statements allow each party the opportunity to present an overview of their case. On the plaintiffs’ side, attorneys represented citizens who lost income as …
Environmentalists, activists rally outside courthouse for start of BP oil spill trial
By Elizabeth Skree, Communications Manager, Environmental Defense Fund Beginning at 6 a.m. this morning, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign members and dozens of Gulf Coast supporters rallied outside the U.S. District Courthouse in New Orleans, urging the U.S. Department of Justice to hold BP fully accountable for the gulf oil disaster. As the civil trial began inside the building, Gulf Coast residents representing communities, industries and diverse sectors gathered outside, holding signs showing the spill’s destruction, reading “#makeBPpay.” The group …
Joint Statement on Upcoming BP Oil Spill Trial and Settlement Reports
Contact: Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org Erin Greeson, National Audubon Society, 503.913.8978, egreeson@audubon.org Lacey McCormick, National Wildlife Federation, 512.203.3016, mccormick@nwf.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Oil Spill Case: BP Needs to Be Held Accountable Washington, D.C. (February 22, 2013) BP is facing tens of billions of dollars in penalties as the U.S. Department of Justice and the British oil giant get ready to start trial Monday over civil charges stemming from the 2010 gulf oil disaster. However, a …
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Louisiana public meetings: Feb. 19-21
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council is holding public meetings to get public opinion on how RESTORE Act dollars should be spent, and we invite you to attend and be a voice for environmental restoration. The Restoration Council is looking for public input on their draft Comprehensive Plan for Gulf Coast restoration which will outline how RESTORE Act dollars from the BP oil spill will be translated into restoration projects. To make the gulf whole, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council must make a concerted …
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. Almost three years after the BP oil disaster, the question around …
BP Oil Disaster: More than 133,000 voices for the gulf
Nearly three years after the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the mystery of BP’s Clean Water Act fines 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. Among its numerous violations, BP is accountable for upwards of $21 billion in civil Clean Water Act fines. Thanks to last year’s bipartisan RESTORE Act, this money will …
Path Forward plan must focus on ecosystem restoration
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council recently released “The Path Forward to Restoring the Gulf Coast: A Proposed Comprehensive Plan.” The RESTORE Act, signed into law in July, required the newly created Restoration Council to publish a Proposed Plan within six months of the legislation becoming law. Only six pages in length, the Path Forward provides a general framework for the Restoration Council to follow while developing their more robust Initial Comprehensive …
Tagged Economics, Reports