Latest Mississippi River Delta news: March 22, 2013
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BP Seeks Sanctions Over Missing Cement Samples By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press. March 22, 2013. “BP asked a federal judge Thursday to sanction its cement contractor on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling project, accusing the company of withholding critical evidence that could have been used at the ongoing trial over the nation’s worst offshore oil spill…” (read more) Gulf Coast attorneys general say BP ‘wrong’ to challenge oil spill claims process By George Talbot, Press-Register (Mobile, Ala.). March 21. 2013. …
Latest Mississippi River Delta news: March 21, 2013
Coast reclamation advocates warn fight over how to spend BP fines far from over By Bob Marshall, The Lens. March 20, 2013. “As lawyers battle in federal court to determine how many billions in fines BP and its partners owe for damages caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, Louisiana coastal advocates are being urged to get involved in an equally important fight already underway outside the courtroom…” (read more) Coastal states want more offshore drilling revenue By Andrew Restuccia, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 20, 2013
Steven Newman, Transocean President And CEO, To Testify AT Gulf Oil Spill Trial By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press. March 19, 2013. “NEW ORLEANS — Transocean employees should have done more to detect signs of trouble before the company’s drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 workers and triggering the nation’s worst offshore oil spill, Transocean’s chief executive testified Tuesday…” (Read more) Mandeville coastal restoration project triggers heated discussion before City Council By Kim Chatelain, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 19, 2013
BP loses motion to dismiss gross negligence that could trigger US$17.6B in fines in spill trial By Allen Johnson Jr. and Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News. March 18, 2013. “BP Plc lost a motion to dismiss the issue of a potential finding of gross negligence, which could trigger fines as much as US$17.6-billion, in the trial over its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill…” (Read more) Companies Begin Defense in Gulf Oil Spill Trial The Associated Press. …
Memo to BP: End the blame game, restore the gulf
This was originally posted by the National Wildlife Federation. By Sara Gonzalez-Rothi Kronenthal, National Wildlife Federation It took BP 87 days to cap the well gushing from a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, in an area known as the Macondo prospect. For months, BP shirked responsibility, hiding the flow-rate from government officials, shareholders and the American people. It has taken plaintiffs’ lawyers representing federal, state, and private interests just three weeks to present evidence that BP’s actions constitute gross …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 18, 2013
BP Loses Bid to Dismiss Gross Negligence in Spill Trial By Allen Johnson Jr. and Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News. March 18, 2013. “BP Plc (BP/) lost a motion to dismiss the issue of a potential finding of gross negligence, which could trigger fines as much as $17.6 billion, in the trial over its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill…” (Read more) Defense starts for companies in Gulf oil spill civil trial The Associated Press. March 18, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 15, 2013
‘Adaptive management’ needed for coastal restoration projects By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). March 14, 2013. “As Louisiana moves forward with projects included in the coastal restoration and protection master plan, not everything is going to have the predicted results or work as well as was intended, speakers said Thursday at a panel put together by a not-for-profit research institute…” (Read more) BP contractor finds cement samples mid-trial WDSU News. March 14, 2013. “NEW ORLEANS —A lawyer for …
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, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 14, 2013
Halliburton rig worker acknowledges missing signs of well blowout as BP trial continues By Richard Thompson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). March 13, 2013. “Joseph Keith, a mud logger for Halliburton’s Sperry Sun unit, testified Wednesday in the 11th day of the BP trial that he took a smoke break and missed a “kick” of natural gas an hour before the April 20, 2010 blowout of BP’s Macondo well and the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig…” (Read …
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 …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 13, 2013
Halliburton Official ‘Surprised’ by Unauthorized Tests By Allen Johnson Jr. and Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News. March 12, 2013. “A Halliburton Co. (HAL) safety executive testified he didn’t authorize post-explosion tests on the type of cement used on the BP Plc (BP/) well that blew up in the Gulf of Mexico and was surprised when he heard about them a year later…” (Read more) BP trial: Halliburton exec testifies seal on well had ‘low probability of success’ By Mark Heim, …
A tale of two islands
By Derek Brockbank, Director, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign. It was the best of Louisiana; it was the worst of Louisiana. This past week, I had the opportunity to see the remarkable juxtaposition of the depressing, but necessary, ongoing efforts to clean BP oil from the beaches of Grand Isle and the hope for the coast that was generated by joining with hundreds of volunteers on a restoration project on Grand Terre. Grand Isle and Grand Terre are both low-lying …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 12, 2013
River Diversions for Louisiana Restoration to Require Sediments Dredging Today. March 12, 2013. “An independent technical panel reported March 11, 2013, in a newly concluded study, that existing Mississippi River freshwater diversions have not slowed the ongoing loss of Louisiana’s wetlands…” (Read more) The Not-So-Mysterious Loss of Salt Marshes and Ecosystem Services By Paige Brown, Scientific American. March 12, 2013. “Mosquitos by the droves. Polluted coastal waters. Increased storm surge vulnerability. Loss of habitat for crabs, shellfish and vast numbers …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 11, 2013
Second week of BP oil spill trial focuses on gross negligence By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). March 8, 2013. “In the second week of the BP oil spill trial in New Orleans, lawyers for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee and the Justice Department continued to plod through a long list of witnesses called to back up their contention that BP committed gross negligence and willful misconduct in actions before, during and after the blowout of its Macondo oil well …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 8, 2013
BP oil spill trial: Blowout preventer on Macondo well had dead battery, miswired solenoid, expert testifies By Mark Schleifstein and Richard Thompson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). March 8, 2013. “The blowout preventer used on the BP Macondo well contained a dead battery and a miswired solenoid, a fatal combination that resulted in the complex piece of machinery failing to stop the flow of oil and gas that triggered the explosion and fire on April 20, 2010…” (Read more) BP ‘Played …