Tag Archives: Deepwater Horizon
BP Oil Spill: Where does the coast stand 14 years later?
Saturday marks 14 years since the Mississippi Gulf Coast was changed forever. On April 20, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico saw the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The catastrophe killed 11 workers, sent over 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and washed onto the shores of the Gulf Coast. The spill continued for the next four weeks and two days, causing lasting environmental and economic impacts. “A lot of the grasslands and the marsh and all had a lot of devastation there because the oil get in and it would kill the grasses and also kill what was in the grasses,” explained Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:17
Deepwater Horizon settlement projects surpass $1B
A milestone was surpassed this year when projects funded through the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement exceeded $1 billion, Blankenship said. ADCNR Deepwater Horizon Restoration Coordinator Amy Hunter and her staff oversee the projects funded by the settlement. “The big takeaway is we have $1 billion, $29 million in projects underway in Mobile and Baldwin counties that we are managing through our Deepwater Horizon Section,” Blankenship said. “That is 176 individual projects. That’s a lot of money and a lot of work going on. We have six people in that section, and they’re doing a very good job of managing projects that will make generational changes on the Gulf Coast. >click to read< 09:56
Research concludes after years of studying the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its effects in the Gulf
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, a consortium of 17 institutions in six countries, was funded through a $500 million grant from BP. The money was spent on a variety of studies, looking at both the Deepwater Horizon incident itself, and also the long-term ecological impacts.,, Steve Murawski is with the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, which was a leader in the multinational project. The biggest takeaway, he said, is that we weren’t ready for this event. They didn’t have the technology to cap a runaway well, a mile deep, and the government wasn’t prepared,” >click to read< 14:01
Gulf of Mexico Still Struggling 10 Years After BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Blanchard operates one of America’s biggest shrimp distributors, Dean Blanchard Seafood, which has yet to fully recover from the aftereffects of one of the world’s worst oil disasters. The calamity began when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, The environmental catastrophe devastated one of the world’s most productive aquatic ecosystems five years after Hurricane Katrina had decimated the region. Fishing industry devastated,,, Shrimper and oyster harvester George Barisich said he had to settle for 35% of lost income. “That oil’s basically created pavement at the bottom of the Gulf,” Barisich explained. “Some seafood likes to hide at the bottom, but they can’t burrow in pavement.” Blanchard blames the situation for shrimp hauls that continue to decrease annually. >click to read< 08:19
‘Invisible oil’ from Deepwater Horizon spill may have reached the Florida Keys, possibly as far as North Carolina
Nearly a decade after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history killed 11 people and dumped 200 million gallons of crude into the ocean, researchers found discrepancies in the satellite footprint that was used to establish fisheries closures and data from sampling and field tests. They concluded that the real extent of the BP oil spill may have been 30 percent larger than originally estimated.,,, “We realized that the satellite footprint and the fisheries closure areas didn’t capture the full extent of the spill, and that the impact on marine life may have been overlooked,“ >click to read< 07:40
Near Deepwater Horizon Spill Site, Sea Creatures Looking For Mates Find Death Instead
It’s been almost a decade since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused nearly five million barrels of oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico. It was a catastrophe for Gulf ecosystems and, even now, wildlife still tend to avoid the site. But there are a couple of notable exceptions,,, some deep-sea shrimp and red crab looking for potential mates are turning up at the site, only to find sickness and death, due to oil spill contamination. >click to read< 20:08
When All Hell Breaks Loose: Years after Deepwater Horizon, Offshore Drilling Hazards Persist
This is part one of a three-part investigation into offshore drilling safety. >Read part two here. Read part three here.< They are known as the “last line of defense” against an offshore drilling blowout and uncontrolled spill. They are supposed to save the lives of oil workers and protect the environment. But, as the Trump Administration proposes weakening safety requirements for these critical defenses, a Project On Government Oversight investigation found that they are dangerously vulnerable to failure. In an emergency, the defenses known as “blowout preventers” are meant to choke off the flow of highly pressurized gas and oil rising through well pipes from deep beneath the ocean floor. However, far from being fail-safe, blowout preventers have failed in myriad and often unpredictable ways. So have the people responsible for maintaining and operating them. >click to read<17:42
Deepwater Horizon oil spill didn’t really hurt Florida pro-drilling leaders say
Former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp caused a furor recently when he claimed oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster “didn’t even reach the shores of Florida.” He now admits he was wrong. Sort of. “I guess I overstated it,” said Kottkamp, now leading a group seeking to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil exploration, said in an interview this week with the Tampa Bay Times. His attempt to walk back the remark could offer a preview of the campaign to come as groups push to expand drilling in federal waters eight years later. He and another industry representative say the BP oil spill was more of a public relations disaster fueled by the television news media, rather than an environmental disaster. >click to read<15:47
The Mississippi Coast is tired of waiting for BP money. It is time for action.
The Coast has waited far too long to learn the fate of the $700 million that has yet to be spent out of a $750 million settlement for economic damages from BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. We know the majority of the economic damage was inflicted on the people of Mississippi’s Coast. And we know that no rational argument has been made for spending the majority of the BP economic damages money anywhere but on the Coast. The Mississippi Gulf Coast’s lifeblood, tourism, was on life support. Its seafood industry was first shutdown and then mistrusted. Millions were invested to restore the country’s faith in Gulf shrimp and other delicacies. >click to read<12:22
How a small town in Nova Scotia is taking a stand against deepwater drilling in the Atlantic
Less than 100 kilometers down the coast from Halifax sits the picturesque, historic fishing town of Lunenburg. Lining the streets is a kaleidoscope of colourful buildings which lead to the town hall, a red brick building in “old town.” Inside, a quiet rebellion is brewing. Lunenburg town council has decided to take a stand after the recent government approval of British Petroleum’s deepwater drilling project 300 kilometres off the Nova Scotia coast. In April, the oil giant began drilling the first of seven planned exploratory wells, some twice the depth of the Deepwater Horizon well, l, site of the largest marine oil spill in history in 2010. The explosion and sinking of the Transocean oil rig ravaged the Gulf of Mexico, leaking about 3.19 million barrels of oil from BP’s pipes into the ocean over 87 consecutive days.>click to read<19:53
Coast Guard responders “harmed by chemicals used to clean up BP’s spill”
Sometimes, there is absolutely nothing worse than being proven right. It is the one thing you dreaded. Ever since the horrendous Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, I and many others warned against using the toxic chemical called Corexit arguing that it would do more damage than good. The potential evidence of harm, or lack of evidence of its safety, was clear for everyone from BP to the US Government to see to if they had bothered to look. Nearly one million gallons of the dispersant was dropped by air and a further 770,000 gallons injected into the well head to try and disperse in excess of 200 million gallons of oil that was spilt by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. >click to read<13:21
Trump administration’s offshore drilling plans make one Nova Scotia fish processor very nervous
A U.S. government plan to expand offshore drilling in its waters could give oil and gas companies access to ecologically sensitive areas, including the American half of Georges Bank, a prospect that makes one Nova Scotia fish processor very nervous. Georges Bank is a large elevated area of sea floor that separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean and is an important breeding ground for several fish species. It’s an area far too important to the fishing industry to be endangered by drilling, according to Nathan Blades, the general manager of Sable Fish Packers on Cape Sable Island in southwest Nova Scotia. click here to read the story 13:35
Corexit Dispersant used in BP oil spill sickened workers, new federal study confirms
The chemicals that were used to break up oil from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout have long been suspected of sickening workers who responded to the disaster. Now a federal health agency is backing some of their assertions. The National Institutes of Health this month published a study saying workers exposed to oil dispersants suffered a range of symptoms,,, Two dispersants, Corexit EC9500A and Corexit EC9527A, both manufactured by Nalco Environmental Solutions, were dropped by airplane to break up oil on the water’s surface. It was the first time dispersants had been used on a large scale, and their potential effects on human health and the environment were not known. click here to read the story 09:35
Seven Years Later, Deepwater Horizon Still Spilling Into Legal System
The BP oil spill has faded from the global headlines, but seven years later, the effects on residents of the Gulf Coast and the legal system nationwide are far from over. While the journey has been long and difficult, there are lessons for those injured and their lawyers. The Deepwater Horizon Claim Center will likely shut down this year after paying an estimated $13 billion in individual and business claims for economic and property damages. As it does, payments from related settlements, this time with Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Trans-Ocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. and other defendants, will start. Thousands of claimants are expected to divide $1.24 billion.,,, Those in the seafood industry received $2.3 billion in compensation for business and economic losses. Of that, $520 million was not paid until late last year, which means some people waited six-and-a-half years to receive all of their money. click here to read the story 11:40
We should never allow offshore oil drilling near Myrtle Beach, BY Carol Coney
Jeffrey Nelson’s letter of May 9 tries to convey a sense of safety that new technology will bring to offshore drilling. He feels that underwater drilling platforms guided from miles away will somehow prevent oil spills. What he fails to mention is that technology quite often fails. Combine remote control with a platform many miles beneath the surface, and you are asking for disaster. Yet his premise is that if it is underwater and you can’t see it, it must be safe.Consider this: The Deepwater Horizon drilling platform was using proven technology and, according to the government investigation, failed because of human error and gross negligence. No amount of new technology will eliminate causes like that. Click here to read the op-ed 16:58
Lafourche fisherman sues BP, alleging injuries from oil spill cleanup
A man from Cut Off is suing BP, alleging he has suffered severe injuries since he was exposed to crude oil and dispersants while working in oil spill cleanup after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. Levy Brunet Jr. filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. He names BP PLC, BP Exploration and Production and BP America Production Co. as defendants. According to the lawsuit, the defendants chartered Brunet’s commercial fishing and shrimping boat in May 2010 for the Vessel of Opportunity Program to help with cleanup from Deepwater Horizon. The plaintiff worked in the program until October 2010.,, Brunet alleges he was exposed to “massive quantities of crude oil, crude oil vapors, dispersants that were being injected into the well site and/or sprayed onto the surface of the water, other gasses or chemicals being released by the uncontrolled well release, as well as fumes from the burning of all these materials, which caused the release of noxious fumes and/or particles.” click here to read the story 09:52
Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted bluefin tuna spawning habitat in Gulf of Mexico
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the largest environmental disasters in history, releasing roughly 4 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. For Atlantic bluefin tuna, it occurred at the worst time of year, during peak spawning season, when eggs and larval fish that are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors exist in mass quantity. In a study (click here)published in Nature: Scientific Reports, scientists from Stanford and NOAA provide the best yet analysis of how the 2010 breeding season might have been impacted by the oil spill. Although the spill encompassed a relatively small proportion of the bluefin tuna spawning grounds, which extend throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico, the authors showed the cumulative oiled tuna habitat was roughly 3.1 million square miles, representing the potential for a significant impact on eggs and larval bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico. Read the story here 13:43
Indictment in BP claims scam reads like a movie
The federal indictment of seven people accused of defrauding the BP claims process includes evidence that reads like a script from a movie. Fraud, conspiracy, dead people and a dog filing for a piece of billions in BP money. Those are all allegations spelled out in Thursday’s 95 count indictment. Prosecutors call it the biggest BP disaster identity theft case to date. The indictment alleges among the more than 40,000 client claims submitted, one was for Lucy Lu who turned out to be a dog. Five other names submitted had died before the 2010 oil spill. Read the rest here Seven indicted in largest BP fraud identity theft case to date– Related article here 13:54
Atty. Gen. Lynch: Deepwater settlement historic (it ain’t enough)
The justice department says a settlement to resolve claims against BP for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico deepwater horizon
oil spill is ‘historic’. The agreement with the five Gulf States affected is worth billions in civil claims. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch made the announcement at the department of justice Monday: (Loretta Lynch) “Today, I am pleased to announce, that we have secured an historic resolution of our pending claims against BP totaling more than 20-billion dollars, making it the largest settlement with a single entity in American history,,, Read the rest here 09:08
Gulf states reach $18.7 billion settlement with BP over 2010 oil spill
The settlement announcement comes as a federal judge was preparing to rule on how much the British oil giant owed in federal Clean Water Act penalties after millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf. BP was leasing the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010 when it exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 crewmen and releasing some 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf. Read the rest here 12:48
Jury selection begins for BP exec charged in Deepwater Horizon oil spill
David Rainey, BP’s former vice president for exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, will stand trial in New Orleans, charged with obstructing a congressional investigation in the weeks after the oil spill, the largest in US history. Prosecutors allege he deliberately withheld information about how much oil was being pumped into the Gulf following the explosion at the BP well. Rainey was the second in command at BP’s “unified command center” in Robert, Louisiana, where cleanup and response efforts were coordinated. Read the rest here 09:26
BP still in the frame for Gulf of Mexico fish lesions
‘We can’t say with 100 per cent certainty that it was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’, explained Steven Murawski, marine science professor at the University of South Florida, ‘but we can say what it wasn’t. The findings, published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, were disputed by BP. According to Geoff Morrell, a senior vice president with BP, such lesions ‘have long been observed in the Gulf and have little effect on a species’ health or population.’ <Read more here> 11:34
Impact of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on coral is deeper and broader than predicted
A new discovery of two additional coral communities showing signs of damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill expands the impact footprint of the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery was made by a team led by Charles Fisher, professor of biology at Penn State University. Read more here 08:52
“I believe BP is winning.” – How a Gulf Settlement That BP Once Hailed Became Its Target
“In the beginning they was all real nice,” said Barry Labruzzo, a 35-year-old shrimper from Slidell, La. Mr. Labruzzo received an emergency payment from Mr. Feinberg’s operation in the early days of the spill, while also putting in a claim for lost business revenue. He was confident he would be paid quickly. “They would tell us we don’t even need a lawyer,” he said. nyt.com Read more here 17:46
Compensation battle rages four years after BP’s oil spill
Four years after the Deepwater Horizon spill, oil is still washing up on the long sandy beaches of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and some islanders are fed up with hearing from BP that the crisis is over. Jules Melancon, the last remaining oyster fisherman on an island,,, Read more here 11:22
Fishermen say impacts still linger from BP oil spill – video
“We believe this disaster has greatly impacted the ability of fisheries to spawn. And that’s why they’re not seeing the fisheries they used to. They’re not catching what they used to. We believe that the spawning ability has been greatly impacted,” said Thao Vo, an advocate for fishing families. Read more here wlox 20:02
Deepwater Horizon oil left tuna, other species with heart defects likely to prove fatal
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill struck at the very heart of fish, a new study says. Exposed to millions of gallons of crude, young tuna and amberjack, some of the speediest predators in the ocean, developed heart defects that are likely to limit their ability to catch food. Read more here wapo 09:02
BP Must Cover Business Losses Without Evidence
Business-loss claims under a civil settlement related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster do not evidence of causation, the 5th Circuit ruled Monday. This marks the second time that BP failed to sway the court with,,, Read more here courthousenews 11:32
