Search Results for: BP

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

BP Oil Spill: 1,000 Days Later

It’s been exactly 1,000 days since the BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, gushing millions of barrels of crude oil into a body of water that supports countless ecosystems and economies. Below is a timeline of major events that have occurred in the last 1,000 days. Tell BP to stop stalling, take responsibility, and pay the maximum Clean Water Act fines for which they are liable — now! Sources: – Restorethegulf.org, “First oiled bird is recovered.” – …

What the BP criminal settlement means for Gulf Coast restoration

By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered welcomed and unexpected good news for Gulf Coast restoration efforts. On November 15, DOJ announced they had reached a settlement with BP on all criminal charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But what was expected to be a simple press conference outlining the details of the criminal plea agreement turned out to be a huge $2.4 …

LPB TV and the BP Oil Disaster: “Louisiana: The State We’re In”

Last Friday on Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s (LPB) “Louisiana: The State We’re In,” panelists representing impacted families, state communities and the environment discussed the recent Department of Justice announcement of an unprecedented $4.5 billion BP criminal case settlement for BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, plus ongoing impacts and restoration needs. Panelists included: Keith Jones, whose son was among the eleven killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion; Melanie Driscoll, Director of Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society’s Mississippi Flyway and Gulf of Mexico; and …