skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Civil Trial Begins Today for BP's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

play audio
Play

Monday, February 25, 2013   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There is a renewed call to make sure BP is held accountable, as the civil trial for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster of 2010 is set to begin today in New Orleans. It's also possible that the trial will be averted with a last-minute settlement between BP and the Department of Justice.

Either way, said John Kostyack, executive director, Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming, at the National Wildlife Federation, any penalty must be high enough to restore the Gulf, while also making sure this doesn't happen again.

"The Department of Justice has a responsibility to set a penalty amount that factors in BP's assets, which we know are nearly $300 billion, and the risks that they will continue business as usual if their bottom line is not affected by any settlement," Kostyack declared.

Kostyack said that by using data from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and applying it to Deepwater, BP's civil liability should be over $40 billion. Some recent reports suggest a possible settlement in the $16 billion range. The criminal provisions from the spill were settled last year, with BP paying $4.5 billion.

It was April 20 of 2010 when there was an explosion on the Deepwater rig, killing 11 people and ultimately sending more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf in what is the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. Now, nearly three years later, Brian Moore, executive director of the National Audubon Society, says the full effect still isn't known, and Gulf residents are waiting for BP to take care of business.

"I've just finished two days of attending public meetings held by the federal government, and I can tell you first-hand that the people of the Gulf do not feel yet like justice has yet been served," Moore charged. "I can also tell you that the damage caused to the environment is significant and much needs to be done to repair the damage."

This first phase of the trial will focus on the causes of the disaster and who should be held responsible. The Department of Justice has concluded that BP was grossly negligent. BP says it was not, and claimed that the spill was a tragic accident resulting from multiple causes and involving multiple parties.

More information from the DOJ at is at 1.usa.gov/eILeeQ and the statement from BP is at bit.ly/ZcMcAD.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021