Sunday, June 8, 2014

BP must pay Clean Water Act fines for gulf oil disaster, appeals court says | NOLA.com

BP must pay Clean Water Act fines for gulf oil disaster, appeals court says | NOLA.com:

Assciated Press June 4, 2014

The owners of the blown-out Macondo well may not avoid federal fines for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster by blaming another company's failed equipment, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  ruled Wednesday. The oil came from a well owned by BP and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., so they are liable, the court said.
The ruling upheld a 2012 decision by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. He has scheduled a trial in January to help decide how much the oil giant owes in federal Clean Water Act penalties.
"We hope the court's decision will be one more step toward reaching a just conclusion for the American people," U.S. Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said.
BP had no comment on the ruling, the 5th Circuit's second against the oil giant in less than two weeks. The court ordered BP on May 27 to resume paying claims while it asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review its settlement with some businesses. A 2-1 judgment putting that order into effect was filed May 28.
Anadarko was reviewing Wednesday's ruling and its options, spokesman John Christiansen said.
Loyola University law professor Blaine LeCesne said he doubts Anadarko will have to pay much, if anything, in Clean Water Act fines because its partnership gave BP complete control over how the well was drilled and run.
In 2011, Anadarko agreed to pay BP $4 billion. BP said that payment would be part of its $20 billion fund to compensate people and businesses hurt by the spill.
Transocean Ltd., which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the blowout preventer, pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor Clean Water Act violation and agreed to pay a $1 billion fine.
BP and Anadarko had argued that failure of Transocean's blowout preventer caused the explosion, which killed 11 men on April 20, 2010, and spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico until the well was capped that July 15. They also argued that although the oil was from their well, it got into the gulf from the pipe connecting the well to the rig. That riser was ripped apart when the blazing rig sank.


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