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US sues BP over Gulf oil spill
By Michael Kunzelman and Harry R. Weber |
December 17, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A POWERFUL plaintiff has joined the hundreds of people and businesses suing BP and other companies involved in the Gulf oil spill: the Justice Department.
The United States government, in an opening salvo in its effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage, accuses the companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that blew out on April 20 and triggered a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Wednesday's lawsuit is separate from a Justice Department criminal probe that has not resulted in any charges.
"The department's focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future (spills) is not over," Attorney General Eric Holder said during a news conference in Washington. "Both our civil and criminal investigations are ongoing."
The federal lawsuit filed in New Orleans names BP, rig owner Transocean and some other firms involved in the ill-fated drilling project, but not Halliburton - the project's cement contractor - or the maker of a key cutoff valve that failed. Both could be added later.
BP said that it would respond to the claims later but noted that it stands "alone among the parties" in having already stepped up to pay for the cleanup.
"The filing is solely a statement of the government's allegations and does not in any manner constitute any finding of liability or any judicial finding that the allegations have merit," BP said.
The lawsuit makes it possible for the federal government to seek billions of dollars in penalties for polluting the Gulf of Mexico, beaches and wetlands, and reimbursement for its cleanup costs. More than 300 lawsuits filed previously by individuals and businesses, and now consolidated in the New Orleans federal court, include claims for financial losses and compensation for the families of 11 workers killed in the blast.
The United States government, in an opening salvo in its effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage, accuses the companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that blew out on April 20 and triggered a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Wednesday's lawsuit is separate from a Justice Department criminal probe that has not resulted in any charges.
"The department's focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future (spills) is not over," Attorney General Eric Holder said during a news conference in Washington. "Both our civil and criminal investigations are ongoing."
The federal lawsuit filed in New Orleans names BP, rig owner Transocean and some other firms involved in the ill-fated drilling project, but not Halliburton - the project's cement contractor - or the maker of a key cutoff valve that failed. Both could be added later.
BP said that it would respond to the claims later but noted that it stands "alone among the parties" in having already stepped up to pay for the cleanup.
"The filing is solely a statement of the government's allegations and does not in any manner constitute any finding of liability or any judicial finding that the allegations have merit," BP said.
The lawsuit makes it possible for the federal government to seek billions of dollars in penalties for polluting the Gulf of Mexico, beaches and wetlands, and reimbursement for its cleanup costs. More than 300 lawsuits filed previously by individuals and businesses, and now consolidated in the New Orleans federal court, include claims for financial losses and compensation for the families of 11 workers killed in the blast.
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