Category: Gulf Coast BP Disaster

BP Reparations Should Fix the Louisiana Coastline

July 6, 2015 11:27 am

BP oil being collected — early BP oil collection

by Marion Marks

The most recent announcement of the BP settlement may give some Louisiana politicians hope that the cash cow will be around for additional “free” projects to enrich their inner circle of power. However, citizens must now step up to demand tighter reins on the purse strings and the manner in which this settlement is used. Louisiana has a horrid track record for failing to take advantage of windfalls that could repair damages and improve the quality of life for citizens and businesses damaged.

Governor Jindal’s recent announcement of the Brown & Root headquarters move from Texas to Louisiana sends chills up the spine of many who feel that B&R may have cut some deal based upon the settlement to funnel work to cronies of the governor. The guards at Read more

Fixing the O&G Mess in Louisiana’s Coastline

April 18, 2014 5:52 pm

Plaquemines Parish abandoned infrastructure

I am pro oil and gas, but Oil & Gas interests must be held accountable for the mess they have left on the coast of Louisiana. Even though Senator Adley is the author of SB553 and got the support of Buffington and Peacock, one senator representing us here Senator Tarver voted for the people and not for the industry. Not saying oil and gas should completely restore the entire surface of the marsh, but at least leave it so nature can to some degree overcome their trespassing. Each of these links below are full of pictures. Each one you click on has a slide show. [this compliments of Jimmie Couvillion]

From Jonathan Henderson, JD, MBA:
Why isn’t this being cleaned up? Why isn’t the state of Louisiana making those responsible clean this up.

Here are links to two sets of new oil, gas, pipeline canal aerial photos that Jonathan Henderson took on April 11th, 2014. There is one set from St. Bernard Parish and one set from Plaquemines Parish:. Read more

John M. Barry & Louisiana’s Last Hope

February 7, 2014 2:00 pm

By Tom Aswell*

He glances down at the cellphone lying on the tabletop in the State Capitol restaurant and says almost apologetically, “I never had one of these until two years ago.” He laughs at his own reluctance to accept modern technology. “When I got it, somebody sent me a message welcoming me to the 20^th century. Not the 21^st, but the 20^th.”

That is the first impression one gets of John M. Barry, the soft-spoken point man in the ongoing lawsuit by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SELFPAE) against 97 oil and gas companies over the destruction of the state’s coastal wetlands.

He speaks in a voice so low that we were forced to move to another table, away from the television that had been directly above us and which kept churning out obnoxious lawyer ads, an irony not lost on the restaurant’s only two customers.

Barry, a gifted researcher and writer is author of several bestselling books, among them 2005’s The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, which was named the year’s outstanding book on science or medicine, and his stark 1998 chronicle Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America. Rising Tide won the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians for the year’s best book of

BP Oil Assaulting Beaches More Toxic Than Ever

July 21, 2013 7:15 pm

More than three years after the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s spilled oil is continuing to assault Louisiana’s beaches — and now we have lab tests showing that these giant tar mats are more toxic than ever.

There’ve been some reports out of the region regarding three separate episodes in which these tar mats have come on shore on Isle Grand Terre, an island barrier and critical wetland in the Gulf waters south of New Orleans. In the worst of the three events, officials discovered an oily tar mat that was 165 feet long and 65 feet wide that had come ashore in an island marsh.

Think about that — a blob of oil half the size of a high school football field! State officials — even Read more

The Nature of Human Frailty

July 8, 2013 7:35 am

Most citizens display surprise when disclosures of theft or misappropriation of public resources are revealed. Responses displayed often are far over-blown as human nature is to want what you don’t have. It’s biblical to covet or desire that which is not yours.

When we were younger we mastered our desires; we had youthful faith in teachings of spiritual leaders. However, we became more worldly, our experiences expanded and our grasp exceeded the control of our consciences.

Understanding limits of personal rights and failures of control Read more

Public and Wikipedia Cry FOUL!

March 22, 2013 11:10 am

BP Attempts to Rewrite History

“History is written by winners,” is the general rule for military history. BP (British Petroleum) seems more than determined to write the history of the “spill” in the Gulf of Mexico in a manner that points favorably to their response and shows less than accurate deference to the details of the actual DISASTER.

So it is determined in the review of facts by Wikipedia and other collectors of facts on the internet. The public response if a simple cry of “FOUL!”

Angry Wikipedia editors estimate that BP has rewritten 44 percent of the page about itself, especially about its environmental performance. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for April 5 on BP’s request to prevent payments of what the oil company calls “fictitious or inflated claims” in a class action settlement reached with victims of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) oil spill.

BP says the claims could cost it billions of dollars.

BP’s emergency request for the hearing is in the civil trial currently under way in Read more

BRITISH PETROLEUM SETTLEMENT MONEY – A GIFT FROM SANTA

January 18, 2013 6:00 am

Shreveport Attorney John Settle — by John Settle

Yes, Virginia, I do believe in Santa Claus; and when I get my check from the British Petroleum Business Loss Settlement fund, I will know there is a Santa Claus. Seriously, I qualify for money from the class action settlement, just like most Louisiana businesses.

Getting the BP money is not as easy as sitting on Santa’s lap. But considering that it is “free money” business owners should take the time to determine if they qualify. The good news is that even though your business may have done well the last few years you may still qualify.

BP’s settlement terms do not require that a business show that the oil spill caused harm to the business. To qualify to make a claim under BP’s settlement terms, the business must pass certain economic tests. There are five different qualification formulas and if a business passes one of them, then it has passed BP’s test and a claim can be made.

The qualification formulas are based solely on gross monthly revenue and Read more

There’s STILL a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea!

October 11, 2012 11:54 am

As previously reported – now verified in Washington Post story, the scientific “fingerprint” of the BP spill is on oil on the surface that did come from an apparent leak in the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s time for greater resource to focus on stopping the oil that seem to leak from the floor of the gulf due to negligent work performed under the control of British Petroleum.

The Gulf of Mexico is the breeding ground and resource of all US citizens. It needs protection and supervision of activities that are potentially hazardous to all citizen’s health.

The complete Washington Post story can be located here.

A portion of the article:

The oil in a slick detected in the Gulf of Mexico last month matched oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill two years ago, the Coast Guard said Wednesday night, ending one mystery and creating another.

“The exact source of the oil is unclear at this time but could be residual oil associated with the wreckage or debris left on the seabed from the Deepwater Horizon incident,” the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard added that “the sheen is not feasible to recover and does not pose a risk to the shoreline.” One government expert said the thin sheen, just microns thick, was 3 miles by 300 yards on Wednesday.

Some oil drilling experts said it was unlikely that BP’s Macondo well, which suffered a blowout on April 20, 2010, was leaking again given the extra precautions taken when it was finally sealed after spilling nearly 5 million barrels of crude into the gulf…. (Read full article)

BP Leak Reports “DISAPPEAR” from the Web!

October 7, 2012 5:01 pm

MACONDO WELL MAY STILL BE LEAKING!

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an oily sheen in the Gulf of Mexico spotted last month near the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill site at Macondo Well 40 miles south of the Mississippi River, a spokesman said Wednesday, revealing a little more of the fossil fuel catastrophe and subsequent coverup.

“The Coast Guard’s National Response Center was first notified of the sheen on Sept. 16 in a report that said it was spotted on satellite imagery, and had not been visually confirmed,” the Times Picayune reports.

The sheen was later reported on a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration web site tracking environmental incidents nationwide.

The initial report from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration said:

“This hotline is being started for new reports of sheen of unknown origin in and near lease block Mississippi Canyon 252. This incident is likely related to reports in August 2011 (See incident #8345, Aug2011). Although the source of these sheens may be the wrecked BP Macondo Well, this relationship has not been established at this time. Activities include daily overflights sponsored by BP, with USCG or NOAA observers on board [intermittently]. BP is sending a vessel to the area with an ROV to investigate the potential source.”

That report is no longer on the web site as of Tuesday night. Instead, visitors see:

“Incident #8510 does not exist, has been deleted, or you do not have permission to view it.”

The report also said BP was sending a vessel equipped with a remotely-operated underwater vehicle to the area to investigate the potential source Read more

BP Strikes Again – Issac Regurgitates BP Oil

September 7, 2012 12:30 pm

isaac-oil-tar mats — Tar Mats from BP revealed by Issac

In this Sept. 5, 2012 aerial photo, a combination of alluvial clay and tar mats are seen on the shore of Elmer’s Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, in Jefferson Parish, La. Tests run by Louisiana State University for state wildlife officials confirmed that oil found on Elmer’s Island and Grand Isle matched the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spewed from BP’s Macondo well. On Wednesday, BP PLC said oil from its spill had been exposed by Isaac’s waves and that the company would work to clean it up.

As BP advertises, “Come on Down!”

Advertising should be taken with a grain of sand! — Thanks BP – The beaches are just fine!

In this second aerial photo of September 5, a tar mats is seen, the elongated mass in the lower third of the photo, on the shore of Elmer’s Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, in Jefferson Parish, La. Tests run by Louisiana State University for state wildlife officials confirmed that oil found on Elmer’s Island and Grand Isle matched the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spewed from BP’s Macondo well. On Wednesday, BP PLC said oil from its spill had been exposed by Isaac’s waves and that the company would work to clean it up. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)