BP Fund Shells Out $5.5 Billion To Gulf Coast Claimants

By Adrianna McGinley

Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) Kenneth Feinberg announced Thursday before the House Committee on Natural Resources that nearly $5.5 billion has been distrubuted to more than 200,000 claimants. 

The committee heard testimony to gain perspective on the status of the $20 billion fund designated to provide relief to those affected by the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Feinberg said he should be held solely responsible for any complaints or concerns regarding the fund and that these filings not be directed towards the Obama administration.

“Any praise about this program or any criticism about this program really should be directed at me and me alone,” Feinberg said. “The administration has largely taken a complete hands off attitude…BP has in no way interfered with my processing of these claims. I am out there on a limb and if it works thank you and if it fails, I bear the brunt of that criticism.”

He added that he believes the relief fund has been largely successful in processing the hundreds of thousands of claims filed thus far.

“People unhappy with my decisions, either as to eligibility or damage, have gone to the United States Coast Guard under the Oil Pollution Control Act and asked the Coast Guard to review my claim and make an independent determination,” he said. “In every single case, every one, the Coast Guard has agreed with my determination. So I think we’re doing something right.”

Feinberg addressed concerns that only 39 percent of claims have been paid, pointing out that many claimants’ files were regarded as ineligible due to a lack of documentation and location. A number of claimants filed complaints because the business in question fell outside of the funds jurisdiction. Feinberg said that 95 percent of claims have already been processed.

Despite Feinberg’s reassurance, activists from the region are unhappy with the work the relief fund has credited itself with.

Faye Williams, an activist from Operation People for Peace and Michelle Roberts from Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, told reporters many Gulf Coast residents are unhappy with the lack of compensation for those whose health was impacted by the spill and argued that the documentation needed to receive medical compensation were near impossible to meet.

“It’s time now for them to get to the individuals who don’t have CEOs to come in here and represent them,” Williams said.

Feds Tightening Rules For Deepwater Drilling

Fewer oil companies will qualify for categorical exclusions under the federal government’s continued moratorium on offshore drilling, said U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar yesterday.

“In light of the increasing levels of complexity and risk, and the consequent potential environmental impacts, associated with deepwater drilling, we are taking a fresh look at the [National Environmental Protection Act] process and the types of environmental reviews that should be required for offshore activity,” Salazar said in a statement.

The actions by the government are intended to redress a loose oversight policy that has allowed many large oil companies to circumvent regulations and receive permits to drill in domestic waters.

A new government report indicated that BP, whose Deepwater Horizon well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, killing 11 workers and rupturing a well which spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf for months, directly capitalized on a lax federal review process. The report, published by the White House Council of Environmental Quality, determined that BP was granted permission to drill its deepwater well based on exemptions established by federal regulatory agencies in the 1980’s, several years before the creation of new technologies allowed oil companies to drill a mile below the surface of the ocean.

On Monday, the head of the regulatory agency tasked by President Obama with more or less taking over the job previously performed by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), said increased scrutiny of the oil industry is needed.

“We are building a more robust and aggressive independent oversight agency based on the development of new tools and enhanced legal and regulatory authorities, as well as on the more aggressive use of existing tools,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich.

“These changes in our regulatory framework and approach will serve to hold offshore operators accountable and ensure that the industry and the country are fully prepared to deal with catastrophic blowouts and oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon.”

More Than 5,000 Square Miles Of Gulf Waters Reopened

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association announced Tuesday that 5,144 square miles of ocean in the Gulf of Mexico are now safe for fishing, according to the NOAA with collaboration from the FDA and Gulf states. 

The NOAA and US Coast Guard report that they have seen no significant oil in the area since July 3rd, and have deemed the zone safe from any future exposures to oil.  According to an NOAA press release Tuesday, “fish caught in the area and tested by NOAA experts have shown no signs of contamination.”

“Consumer safety is NOAA’s primary concern, which is why we developed rigorous safety standards in conjunction with the FDA and the Gulf states to ensure that seafood is safe in the reopened area,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco; “we are confident that Gulf fish from this area is safe to eat and pleased that recreational and commercial fisherman can fish these waters again.” 

The organization reiterated consumer safety as its highest priority, but emphasized that the decision was influenced by the importance of fishing to the livelihoods of many living on the Gulf Coast. 

52,395 square miles are still off limits to commercial and recreational fishing, constituting nearly a quarter of the Gulf’s federal waters - and area roughly the size of the state of Louisiana.

BP Official Touts Success Of Static Kill

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told reporters on Friday that the ‘static kill’ procedure put into motion earlier this week to cement the oil company’s leaking well “went very well.”

Suttles, BP’s point-man on the massive spill in the Gulf, which began almost four months ago, said workers performed an “almost textbook job” during the process. Suttles confirmed reports that no oil is currently leaking from the mangled well, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers. As a result, Suttles said, the number of response workers in the Gulf has decreased from 48,000 during the height of the spill, to 31,000.

Suttles said BP will attempt to seel the well later today, adding that a relief well should be completed by the middle of August. BP has been quick to avoid any “mission accomplished” claims until the relief well is ready and the company can perform a “bottom-kill” procedure.

“We’ve got a ton of work left to do,” said Suttles.

As BP Fills Well With Cement, Response Team Moves To Recovery

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

In an operational update in Washington, Thursday, National Incident Commander Thad Allen stated; “the decision was made last night that the well was in the proper condition where we could cement it. That would increase the integrity of the well, as far as potential leaking of hydrocarbons, and would actually enhance our ability to do the bottom kill … this is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment.”

After successfully pumping heavy drilling mud into the Macondo deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP was authorized by the Coast Guard last night to begin cementing the well - a large step toward killing the well once and for all.  Cementing began around 8:30 am EST, Thursday, and may take up to two days to cure enough for drilling to resume on two crucial relief wells.

Once the cement has set for a “certain amount of time,” drilling into the annulus (the area between the pipeline and the rock) should take five to seven days, according to top officials.

“this is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment,” continued Allen; “I will say once again to the people of the Gulf that we are committed to finishing this cleanup, and holding BP accountable, and we will continue to do that.”

In an operational update from New Orleans that afternoon the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, explained that, 21 days since any oil has entered the Gulf from the Macondo well, he has seen evidence of recovery in heavily-oiled Barataria Bay in Louisiana. 

Zukunft described the resilience of the Gulf ecosystem, and told the press that a key goal in the next phase of the oil spill response will be the inclusion of local leaders in policy-making. He warned, however; “in terms of tar balls washing ashore, we are definitely talking months, potentially years.”