U.S. Justice Department Sues For BP Oil Spill Clean Up Costs

BP oil spill. Photo courtesy of freshnessmag.com.

Alleging violations of federal safety regulations that may have caused or contributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Justice Department has just filed a civil lawsuit against BP and eight others.

“Even though the spill has been contained, the Department’s focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future devastation has not wavered,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement.

“We intend to prove that these defendants are responsible for governmental removal costs, economic losses, and environmental damages without limitation” under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the oil spill, including damages to natural resources, he added.

The complaint says that several key safety and operating regulations were violated in the period leading up to the oil spill, including:

• Failing to take necessary precautions to keep the Macondo Well under control in the period leading up to the April 20th, 2010 explosion.
• Failing to use the best available and safest drilling technology to monitor the well’s conditions.
• Failing to maintain continuous surveillance.
• Failing to use and maintain equipment and material that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources, and the environment.

The complaint alleges that these violations caused or contributed to the massive oil spill, so defendants are responsible for removal costs and damages.

Includeded in the complain are also claims for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized discharge of oil into the nation’s waters. It alleges that the defendants named in the lawsuit were in violation of the Act throughout the months that oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

The defendants named in the lawsuit are:

• BP Exploration and Production Inc.
• Anadarko Exploration & Production LP and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (known collectively as “Anadarko Defendants”).
• MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC
• Triton Asset Leasing GMBH, Transocean Holdings LLC, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., and Transocean Deepwater Inc. (known collectively as “Transocean Defendants”).
• Transocean’s insurer, QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd’s Syndicate 1036.

QBE/Lloyd’s can be held liable only up to the amount of insurance policy coverage under the Oil Pollution Act and is not being sued under the Clean Water Act.

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