Latest Mississippi River Delta News: March 18, 2015

Day after boasting of Gulf’s health, BP confirms 25,000-pound tar mat
By Bob Marshall, The Lens. March 18, 2015
“On Monday, BP released a statement claiming the environment of the northern Gulf of Mexico had returned its “baseline condition” five years after its Deepwater Horizon disaster pumped more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf off Louisiana’s  coast. But on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard was supervising the ongoing removal of a large oil tar mat on East Grand Terre Island that has yielded more than 25,000 pounds of oil mixed with sand since late February, a BP spokesman confirmed.” (Read More)

BP misuses data to fit its claim the Gulf won’t suffer long-term from spill: Editorial
By The Editorial Board, The Times-Picayune. March 18, 2015
“BP’s declaration is premature and one-sided, according to the council of federal and state Natural Resource Damage Assessment trustees, Louisiana officials and environmentalists. In other words, just about everybody other than BP.” (Read More)

BP has PR, not science, on its side
By Clancy DuBos, WWL-TV. March 17, 2015
“A study by BP says the Gulf of Mexico is recovering nicely after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill five years ago. BP claims to have “science” on its side. Truth is, the science isn’t in yet. The official damage assessment process could take up to 10 years to complete.” (Read More)

5 things you should know about BP’s state of the Gulf report
By Mark Schliefstein, The Times-Picayune. March 17, 2015
“Several scientists, federal and state officials, and representatives of environmental groups pointed out that BP’s report was not peer reviewed, and although it did cite some peer-reviewed papers, they contend the company presented only information that placed the Gulf’s recovery in the best light.” (Read More)

BP accused of playing down impact of Gulf of Mexico oil spill
By Ed Crooks, Financial Times. March 17, 2015
“BP has been accused by US government representatives of misinterpreting and misapplying data in arguing that the Gulf of Mexico has recovered faster than expected following the 2010 oil spill in the area.” (Read More)

BP clashes with US scientists over Gulf of Mexico oil claims
By Andrew Critchlow, The Telegraph. March 17, 2015
“The NOAA said: “Citing scientific studies conducted by experts from around the Gulf, as well as this council, BP misinterprets and misapplies data while ignoring published literature that doesn’t support its claims and attempts to obscure our role as caretakers of the critical resources damaged by the spill.” (Read More)