14 DAY TRIAL // Reports in the media indicate that the first major legal action has just been taken to punish those responsible for the chain of events that led to the catastrophic oil spill that affected the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. British Petroleum and eight other companies have just been sued.
The action was undertaken by the US Justice Department, as no civilian or private individual could possibly have the money to back up a lawsuit against one of the largest corporations in the world.
According to news outlets, the step was taken Wednesday, on December 15. The legal action will take the form of a civil oil-spill lawsuit, representatives from the Justice Department announced.
Alongside BP, the lawsuit also targets Anadarko Petroleum Corp., MOEX Offshore 2007, QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd's Syndicate 1036, and subsidiaries of Transocean Ltd.
The latter company was the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible drilling rig, which exploded on April 20, and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana on April 22.
APC and MOEX both had financial stakes in the entire operations, while the other company was an insurer for Transocenic, The Wall Street Journal and LiveScience report.
In a statement he released to the press, US Attorney General Eric Holder said that his Department will seek penalties under the Oil Pollution Act and the Clean Water Act.
“Over the past year, I have visited the gulf region multiple times. I have seen the devastation that this oil spill caused throughout the region – to individuals and families; to communities and businesses; to coastlines, wetlands, and wildlife,” he said.
“Even though the spill has been contained – even though it is no longer the focus of round-the-clock news coverage and the subject of front-page headlines – the Department's focus on investigating this disaster, and preventing future devastation, has not wavered,” he added.
According to the same statement, the lawsuit has been brought before a New Orleans federal judge. Over the past few months, the Justice Department has been conducting both criminal and civil investigations on the disaster. Eleven lives were lost when the drilling rig exploded.
Some of the complaints the Department will seek justice for include, but are not limited to:
-Failure to take necessary precautions to secure the Macondo Well prior to the April 20 explosion; -Failure to utilize the safest drilling technology to monitor the well's condition; -Failure to maintain continuous surveillance of the well; -Failure to utilize and maintain equipment and materials that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, property, natural resources, and the environment.