Articles Posted in Offshore Accidents

Despite BP’s best efforts, clean-up volunteers will be able to file legal claims against the oil company if they arise. BP tried to force volunteer responders to promise they will not file claims but a federal judge has determined that will not be allowed. George Barisich, President of the United Commercial Fisherman’s Association in Louisiana asked for an emergency restraining order against BP, comparing the request to:

Demanding that a person running into their own burning home sign a release limiting or giving up their claims against the arsonist who caused the fire…At best it is an ill-conceived approach to the crisis at hand and has the unforeseen consequences of causing further–and irreparable–injury to the citizens of Louisiana. At worse, it is a dastardly effort to compromise the rights of those citizens when they are the most vulnerable.

U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan agreed with Barisich and granted the restraining order, finding that the agreements are unconscionable and that any agreements that had already been signed are null and void.

According to an AP report, BP yesterday admitted that more oil than it originally estimated is leaking into the Gulf. This news, coming roughly one month after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank, is heightening Gulf Coast residents’ worries about the amount of damage likely to occur. A spokesman for BP, Mark Proegler, said that efforts over the weekend to insert a tube into the leaking pipe were successful, and that the tube is now siphoning off 210,000 gallons of oil per day. That figure is more than the total amount of oil BP and the U.S. Coast Guard originally estimated was leaking from the well, and it is clear that the tube is not capturing all the escaping oil. Mr. Proegler declined to estimate how much oil is still spewing into the Gulf, but some scientists who have viewed the underwater videos of the leak have suggested it could be as much as ten times the official estimate.

Meanwhile, crude oil began washing into the marshes on the state’s southeastern tip and the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, where scientists believe oil has killed some rare birds that reside there. “This is the heavy oil that everyone’s been fearing that is here now,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said during a boat tour of the wetlands. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as of May 17, 29 miles of Louisiana’s coastline had already seen oil.

Adding to concerns over BP’s handling of the disaster are reports of the company’s efforts to limit the public’s view of fouled beaches in Louisiana. CBS news reports when journalists attempted on Tuesday to visit an oil-covered beach in South Pass, they were turned away by BP contractors and two U.S. Coast Guard officers aboard a boat. The officers threatened to arrest the reporters, even though the government had not closed the beach to the public. The reporters captured video of one of the officers saying, “This is [sic] BP’s rules, not ours.”

In the face of the looming oil slick many estuaries and fishing grounds are being closed, leaving hundreds of Louisiana fishermen out of work. As the oil pours into the Gulf, many fishermen are wondering what’s next. While many questions are still up in the air there are a number of issues that fishermen need to be aware of.

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990

The Oil Pollution Act is a federal law that, among other things, allows an affected fisherman to file a claim against BP for his lost profits caused by the oil spill in addition to any other claims he has (i.e. property damage).

In light of some of the more current events affecting citizens of Louisiana, it is important to know and understand property rights resulting from personal property damages from oil spills. Especially in the Gulf region where this event seems to be more common than it should be, you may be entilted to compensation for damaged property. Most personal propety damage as a result of an oil spill will be compensated, but it becomes complex when boats become damaged from an oil spill.

Recently, we discussed the availability of funds under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) for compensating Louisiana residents who suffer property damage as the result of an oil spill. Claims for oil damage to boats are treated as a separate category from other types of personal property under the OPA.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Pollution Funds Center web site, the owner of a boat can submit a claim for the cost of removing oil stains from his vessel (including its interior furnishings like upholstery and carpeting) so that the boat is restored to its pre-fouled condition. Claims can also be filed for damage to mechanical parts of the boat, such as an outboard motor, rudder, anchor winch, etc. Oil spills can seriously impact the value of a boat and lead to substantial deterioration of the usability of a boat.

In a previous post, we explored the role of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) in compensating Louisiana residents who incur oil removal and clean-up costs. These funds are also available for coastal residents who suffer property damage as a result of an oil spill.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Pollution Funds Center web site, the OPA permits filings for oil-related losses to real and personal property. Real property damage is defined as “injury to or economic losses resulting from destruction of land or buildings.” For example, the owner of oil-fouled waterfront property can file for reimbursement of the costs to restore the property to its pre-spill condition. Or, if the owner decides to sell the property without restoring it, he can submit a claim for the difference between its pre-spill assessed value and the reduced price he receives for the fouled property after the spill.

Personal property damage is “injury to or economic losses resulting from damages to other types property you own or lease besides real property.” For instance, a fisherman can submit a claim for the cost of cleaning or replacing a shrimp net, fishing tackle, or clothing that is fouled by oil.

The massive oil slick drifting ominously in the Gulf of Mexico has state officials worried for the health of Louisiana residents who live along the coast. Since April 20, when the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and subsequently sank, oil has been flowing into the Gulf at a rate of up to 200,000 gallons per day. The fact that the oil has not yet reached land is largely the result of favorable winds and currents, both of which are subject to change at any moment. As of Friday afternoon, underwater robots had begun positioning a four-story tall, 100-ton box made of concrete and steel over the gushing well on the sea floor. The device will permit crews to recover most of the oil from the well, but it will not entirely stem the flow. It will also do nothing to address the oil that has already escaped and looms ever closer to the coast.

According to an AP story carried by Yahoo News on May 7, state and federal authorities are gearing up to deal with the many hazards to human health that will result if and when the oil reaches land. Officials are advising coastal residents to take precautions now. “We don’t know how long this spill will last or how much oil we’ll be dealing with, so there’s a lot of unknowns,” Dr. Jimmy Guidry, Louisiana’s state health director, said. “But we’re going to make things as safe as humanly possible.”

Last week, in what many saw as a preview of things to come, a foul stench drifted over parts of lower Louisiana. According to Alan Levine, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the oil was likely to blame. Levine’s office received numerous complaints, some from state legislators in New Orleans, who were more than 130 miles from the epicenter of the disaster.

For those struggling to visualize the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil leak being faced by Louisiana and other Gulf Coast residents, the Times-Picayune has released a helpful graphic depiction of the various elements involved in the matter.

Using information from the US Coast Guard, NOAA, BP and Transocean, Dan Swenson provides the following

We would encourage our readers to check out the full article accompanying the graphic as it outlines with great detail the situation in New Orleans, Venice and other areas in the Gulf Coast that are waiting anxiously to understand what fate will befall them in the face of this environmental disaster.