Those other defendants would include Transocean LTD., owner of the doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and Halliburton Co., which performed cement work on the rig. 

According to Reuters, the proposal on the transfer of legal rights is part of a final set of rules being circulated by Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the BP oil spill compensation fund. If adopted, the rule would still offer victims the opportunity for full payment for documented damages, Reuters said. If it is adopted, the rule could help BP’s efforts to collect billions of dollars from its partners on the Deepwater Horizon rig.

According to the Reuters report:

“Language in the draft proposal requires that claimants transfer, or subrogate, their legal rights to BP. Claimants would sign over their right to sue those responsible for the spill in the same way a car owner might when accepting an insurance payment after being hit by a negligent driver.”

That would enable BP to pursue its partners for a portion of the claims it paid.

Feinberg circulated the proposed rules to lawmakers and attorneys for comment, but he has made clear the decision to implement the rules will be his, not BP’s, Reuters said.

Over the summer, BP agreed to set aside at least $20 billion to pay economic loss and physical damage claims stemming from the BP oil spill. Feinberg, who had previously administered the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, was tapped to oversee the BP fund.

Businesses, individuals and government entities who suffered economic losses or physical injury as a result of the BP oil spill are eligible to file two types of claims: Emergency Advance Payments and long-term final damage claims. They have until November 23, 2010 to file Emergency Advance Payment claims for up to 6 months of economic losses or physical injuries. Claims forms for final payments must be submitted by August 23, 2013.

Claimants may accept an Emergency Advance Payment without waiving any of their legal rights. Accepting a final payment of long-term damages requires that claimants waive their right to sue BP or any of the parties responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Any Emergency Advance Payments will be deducted from any final long-term damage payment a claimant receives. However, it is important to note that claimants may accept an Emergency Advance Payment and still reject the final payment if they find it to be unsatisfactory.

Help filing claims and other legal assistance for the victims of the BP oil spill is available at www.bigspill.com.

The two groups are examining the probable causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire, and oil spill at the request of the US Department of the Interior in order to identify measures for preventing similar harm in the future.
 
According to a report in The Washington Post, the committee of academic experts conducting the study appears to have been taken aback by the education and training levels of people on the rig.

“Personnel on the Deepwater Horizon were mostly trained on the job, and this training was supplemented with limited short courses,” the report said. “While this appears to be consistent with industry standard practice and current regulations it is not consistent with other safety-critical industries such as nuclear power or chemical manufacturing.”

The panel also takes issue with the cementing job on the BP well, The Washington Post said. It noted that the well design complicated the drilling operation, especially given that there were multiple hydrocarbon zones. It also criticized the failure to run one kind of cement test and the failure to pay any attention to bad results from another test of the cement. The rig workers’ failure to determine why a critical pressure test failed, “suggests a lack of onboard expertise and of clearly defined responsibilities” and “a lack of management discipline that is inconsistent with the stakes involved,” the report said.

The study does not address any issues associated with the subsequent fire and release of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico, such as the rescue and fire response, plans for the spill response, spill response and clean up, or the related consequences of the oil spill on the environment or human health.

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

Help filing claims and other legal assistance for the victims of the BP oil spill is available at www.bigspill.com.

At the symposium, it was pointed out that five years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the region’s herring fishery collapsed, at least in part because of the oil spill. The scientists hope that by planning now, similar collapses can be avoided in the Gulf of Mexico. 

To that end, the group is recommending the creation of a unified research and monitoring effort to detect the first signs of trouble with Gulf species and provide that information to management agencies in an effort head off disastrous effects.

“Right now there is no agency that pulls together and coordinates all the information we need about the Gulf,” marine biologist Michael Crosby, senior vice president for research at Mote Marine Laboratory, said at the end of the two-day gathering. “Scientists at different institutions might be collecting different pieces of data — but if we don’t put those together, we could miss the big picture until populations crash.”

The scientists expressed concerns about some changes already being observed in the Gulf. That includes dead and dying coral discovered near the site of BP’s ruptured well that we reported last week. The scientists who made that discovery noted that the coral was covered with a brown substance thought to be rotting tissue. Tests are needed to determine if the coral is being killed off because of the spill.

Some of the scientists expressed concerns that predatory species already endangered, including sharks or blue fin tuna, could be pushed closer to extinction because of the spill. Other wildlife that could face long-term impacts include shrimp, menhaden, blue crabs, various types of plankton, coral reefs, sargassum algae, seabirds, tuna, dolphins, sea turtles, and mackerel, tarpon and other sport fish. On Monday, researchers reported that non-toxic components of oil already have made it up the food chain from oil-eating microbes to plankton that are an important food source for fish.

The symposium plans to release a final report in January. In addition to recommending a unified research and monitoring effort, it will recommend the creation of science-based models of how oil could affect the Gulf, creation of long-term research sites to monitor for future oil spill effects and other environmental problems, and money to pay for the new research programs.

Bill Reilly, the commission’s Republican co-chair, said in his opening statements yesterday that each company was “responsible for one or more egregiously bad decision,” called them “safety laggards,” and said the firms were “in need of top-to-bottom reform.” Reilly, former Environmental Protection Agency chief under during the George H.W. Bush administration, also singled out BP for having “been notoriously challenged on matters of process safety.” 

BP owned the Gulf of Mexico oil well, Halliburton performed critical cement work on the well, and Transocean was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig.

In making his remarks, Reilly pointed to the commissions’ staff reports that cited a host of decision made by the companies. These included “failed cement tests, premature removal of muds underbalancing the well, a negative pressure test that failed but was adjudged a success, apparent inattention, distraction or misreading of a key indicator that gas was rising toward the rig,” Reilly said.

Reilly and another co-chair, former Democratic Senator Bob Graham, also commented on statements by the commission’s chief investigator that his probe did not find any evidence that the companies cut corners on safety to save money.

“The problem here is that there was a culture that did not promote safety … leaders did not take risks seriously enough, didn’t identify risks that proved to be fatal,” Graham said.

Reilly noted that the investigators “didn’t rule out cost, just said they weren’t prepared to attribute mercenary motives to men who cannot speak for themselves because they are not alive.”

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the largest offshore oil disaster in US history. 

Hayward has been a frequent target of criticism since the spill, and his unfortunate habit of putting his foot in his mouth – “I want my life back” – angered many. In July, BP announced Hayward would be stepping down as CEO, effective October 1. He was be replaced by American Bob Dudley, who had been overseeing BP’s spill response.

In excerpts of his interview released by the BBC, Hayward expresses anger at the scorn levied against him. He tells the network he is not certain he would do anything different, and goes so far as to defend his decision to take part in a yacht race with his family at the height of the crisis.

Hayward also reveals that BP came close to financial disaster during the spill, as its credit sources evaporated. He said that before a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in June, “the capital markets were effectively closed to BP.”

In other news, investigators on a special presidential commission investigating the BP spill are saying that there is no evidence that BP took shortcuts aboard the rig to save money.

“To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,” commission chief attorney Fred H. Bartlit Jr. said yesterday in a presentation before the commission.

However, according to The New York Times, Bartlit also told the commission a number of “critical questions about the accident remained in dispute, including the cause of the failure of the cement at the bottom of the well, why BP and its partners went ahead with trying to close in the well after it failed an important pressure test and why crew members failed for too long to recognize that oil and gas were gushing up the well bore.”

“The interesting question is why these experienced men out on that rig talked themselves into believing that this was a good test that indicated well integrity,” said Sean Grimsley, one of Bartlit’s deputies, according to the Times. “None of them wanted to die or jeopardize their safety. The question is why.”

Bartlit also said he could not reach any conclusions about the well’s blowout preventer because it is currently in the hands of federal agents as possible evidence in criminal and civil trials. According to the Times, the government has hired a Norwegian engineering firm to examine it and determine if and how it might have failed. Bartlit said he is awaiting the results of that study.

Finally, Bartlit said his probe had been handicapped by Congress’s refusal to grant the commission subpoena power. The commission does plan to ask Congress to reconsider granting the panel subpoena power, the Times said.

Over the summer, BP agreed to set aside at least $20 billion to pay economic loss and physical damage claims stemming from the BP oil spill. Feinberg, who had previously administered the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, was tapped to oversee the BP fund. Businesses, individuals and government entities who suffered economic losses or physical injury as a result of the BP oil spill are eligible to file two types of claims: Emergency Advance Payments and long-term final damage claims. They have until November 23, 2010 to file Emergency Advance Payment claims for up to 6 months of economic losses or physical injuries. Claims forms for final payments must be submitted by August 23, 2013. 

The $60 million is being set aside to pay Realtors’ emergency claims. Feinberg is deferring decisions on payouts to Realtor associations in the five Gulf States affected by the oil spill – Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

In other news, NPR is reporting that Feinberg’s law firm, Feinberg Rozen LLP, has been paid about $3.35 million from BP PLC to administer the BP compensation fund. The firm received $850,000 a month starting in mid-June, according to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Those payments will continue through the end of the year, at which time, the contract with the firm will be reviewed.

For some people along the Gulf Coast, the revelation of significant fees from BP are undermining Feinberg’s claims that he is operating independently of the oil giant, NPR said.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s working for BP,” said Louisiana shrimp processor Dean Blanchard. “He can say he’s independent, but he’s working for BP and he’s low-balling all of us, the people affected the most.”

As of November 3, the claims fund had paid victims about $1.7 billion. The facility has received about 337,000 claims for compensation. About 97,000 have been paid or approved for payment. Another 97,000 claimants have filed requests for money but have provided no documentation to back up their losses, according to Feinberg. To date, about 32,000 claimants have been denied.

Once the November 23 deadline for filing emergency claims passes, claimants will only be able to submit a claim for a final settlement from BP. If they accept the final settlement offer, they must give up their right to ever sue BP.

Help filing claims and other legal assistance for the victims of the BP oil spill is available at www.bigspill.com.

Scientist aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) ship Ronald H. Brown, just returned Thursday from a three-week cruise studying coral reef in the northern Gulf of Mexico, according to Nola.com. The coral expedition was planned before the oil spill, so its purpose was not to assess the disaster's impacts, but it did give the researchers a good look at seafloor life near the spill zone.

They reported that soft coral in a 15-meter to 40-meter area was covered by what appeared to be a brown substance. Ninety percent of 40 large corals were heavily affected and showed dead and dying parts and discoloration, according to the scientists.

Another site 400 meters away had a colony of stony coral that showed the same symptoms. According to a press release issued by the team, they “observed dead and dying corals with sloughing tissue and discoloration.”

In addition to the NOAA, the cruise was co-sponsored by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Scientists from Penn State University, Louisiana State University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Temple University, Florida State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, PAST Foundation, T.D.I Brooks International and C&C Technologies participated in the cruise.

The scientist did not reach any conclusions about what may be causing the problems with coral at the two sites where they were observed. They await tests that will tell them whethe the brown substance is oil, and whether it came from the ruptured well.

The ship stopped at several locations in a triangular area along the deep slope of the Gulf about 200 miles off the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama and westernmost Florida before returning to port in Pensacola. It should be noted, the team observed no changes at most other coral locations this year.

BP agreed over the summer to provide at least $20 billion into the BP oil spill claims fund to reimburse businesses, individuals and government entities for economic losses and physical damage sustained as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. They have until November 23, 2010 to file for an Emergency Advance Payment for up to 6 months of economic losses or physical injuries. Claims forms for final payments for long-term damages must be submitted by August 23, 2013. 

Claimants may accept an Emergency Advance Payment without waiving any of their legal rights, while accepting a final payment of long-term damages requires that claimants waive their right to sue. However, they may accept an emergency payment, and later turn down their final payment if they find it unsatisfactory.

Feinberg told the Associated Press that since October 1, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility has received thousands of new claims for emergency payments, likely due to the impending deadline. Some of the 315,000 emergency payment claims are undocumented, he said, and he speculated that many are illegitimate requests by people who “sense a gold rush.” He also said the claims facility has sent about 30 potentially fraudulent claims to the Justice Department for investigation, and hundreds more are under review.

Feinberg also denied that the claims process is in chaos.

“I disagree about disarray,” Feinberg told the Associated Press. “There are discrepancies in claims based on documentation and your ability to demonstrate a connection to the spill and your damage.”

But some Gulf Coast residents whose claims have been denied say they are mystified by their rejections. One wedding planner in Orange Beach, Alabama told The Washington Post that she requested $240,000 for lost revenue because of beach wedding cancellations and received a check for just $7,700. She was not told a reason for the denial, and expressed frustration over the apparent secrecy.

While claimants who receive smaller emergency payments than requested can apply for more money in their final payment claim, it could be months before they receive that money. Many simply do not have the luxury of time, however. The wedding planner, for instance, told the Post that her business may have to file for bankruptcy because of the way her emergency payment claim was handled.

While BP oil spill claimants can file for Emergency Advance Payments on their own, it is becoming clear that legal assistance could be helpful. Help filing claims and other legal assistance for the victims of the BP oil spill is available at www.bigspill.com.

This development is raising a lot of eyebrows, because up until now, Halliburton has been able to avoid most of the blame for the BP oil spill disaster. Halliburton previously blamed BP for failing to heed its advice on the design of the well and failing to do all the necessary tests. BP has pointed the finger at the cement mixture Halliburton used. 

According to a report on MSNBC, BP at the last-minute increased the amount of a critical ingredient in that cement mixture. While an earlier test showed the cement was stable, the company never performed a stability test on the new blend. According to Halliburton, a successful test was performed on a cement mix different than the one that was eventually used. Tests that were performed on the mixture used did not include a foam stability test, MSNBC said.

Halliburton’s admission followed the issuance of a letter to the president’s oil spill commission from its chief investigative counsel Fred H. Bartlit Jr. The letter said BP and Halliburton knew weeks before the Deepwater Horizon explosion that the cement mixture they planned to use to seal the new well was unstable but still completed the work, according to MSNBC.

The letter also placed some blame on Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig:

“The oil industry has developed tests, such as the negative pressure test and cement evaluation logs, to identify cementing failures” the letter said, but “BP and/or Transocean personnel misinterpreted or chose not to conduct such tests at the Macondo well.”

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the letter cautioned that the new findings don’t absolve BP of responsibility for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It notes that cement failures are relatively common, and points out that the well owner – BP – is responsible for testing the cement and fixing any problems.

However, BP could still benefit if investigators determine that Halliburton’s cement design was at fault, the Journal said. Such a development would make it less likely that BP would be found grossly negligent in the disaster, which would reduce its penalties under federal pollution laws.

At a news conference yesterday to mark the end of a three-month expedition by the group’s Arctic Sunrise vessel, Greenpeace microbiologist John Hocevar said that test results from a single oiled sediment sample taken in late September from 1 mile deep and about 4 1/2 miles from the spill site confirmed that the oil was from the BP spill.

The Arctic Sunrise spent three months looking for oil and marine life in trouble after it arrived in the Gulf following the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Greenpeace is working with scientists from over a dozen institutions and the Gulf Restoration Network to try and get a better understanding of the true impacts of BP’s oil spill.

Federal agencies have said that most of the oil spilled into the Gulf has evaporated, dissipated, been dispersed or been burned and skimmed. Government scientists also say they have not found any visible oil on the sea floor so far.

“One of the things that has been important about this is that it was independent scientists, so we don’t take corporate or government money. It’s independent,” said Captain Pater Willcox, who has been with Greenpeace for over 30 years, and brought the Arctic Sun to the Gulf after the BP oil spill.

At yesterday’s news conference, Hocevar said the White House should have waited before lifting the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf because so much about the spill remains unknown.

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the largest offshore oil disaster in US history.

BP released the results of its internal investigation last month. While it cited BP workers for failing to correctly evaluate negative-pressure tests the day of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, it also maintained that its well design was not to blame for the catastrophe. BP also placed much of the onus on contractors for Transocean Ltd., which owned the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig, as well as Halliburton Co., which cemented the well.

According to an ABC News report, BP’s design for its well included a number of cheaper options, including the use of a single tube from the surface to the reservoir, rather than two overlapping tubes.

“Shell clearly would have drilled this well in a different way and would have had more options to prevent the accident,” Voser said while speaking at the Oil and Money conference in London. Shell generally includes more barriers to hydrocarbon leaks in its well designs, ABC News noted.

Voser also said that BP’s investigation should have looked more closely at the design chosen for the blown well.

However, Voser also acknowledged that the entire oil industry has failed to prepare properly for a major accident, and added that he expects more regulation as a result of the BP disaster. Finally, he said Shell would be more selective about who it would partner with on projects in the Gulf of Mexico, in order to make sure contractors have the necessary technical skills and the financial ability to handle their part when accidents do occur.

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the largest offshore oil disaster in US history.

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the largest offshore oil disaster in US history.

The end of the moratorium was hinted at this morning by White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs. That was followed by an email to reporters from the Interior Department announcing a 1:00 p.m. conference call to discuss the end of the deepwater drilling ban.

“I have decided that it is now appropriate to lift the suspension on deepwater drilling for those operators that are able to clear the higher bar that we have set,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said during today’s media conference call.

According to The New York Times, the Obama administration is lifting the moratorium following the imposition of new rules governing areas like well casing and cementing, blowout preventers, safety certification, emergency response and worker training. Michael Bromwich, head of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said yesterday that have lessened the risks associated with drilling.

“We think things have advanced and we’ve raised the bar substantially and that drilling can now proceed more safely than it has in the past,” he said.

Despite the economic and environmental devastation the BP oil spill brought to the Gulf Coast, the moratorium angered many who complained that it cost jobs and hurt the economy further. Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, for example, has said she will block Senate action on the President’s nominee to lead the White House budget office until the moratorium is lifted.

Though the moratorium is now officially history, drilling is unlikely to resume quickly because of the need for more inspections and compliance with new regulations, the Interior Department said.

According to those documents, unnamed officials told the commission that in late April or early May, the White House budget office denied a request from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to release the worst-case models. According to a report in the Associated Press, BP estimated the worse scenario to be a leak of 2.5 million gallons per day, but at the time, the administration told the public it amounted to 210,000 gallons per day. It wasn’t until August that the government’s estimates came close to the worst-case models.

In response to the commission’s allegations, Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, said the budget office had concerns about the reliability of the NOAA estimates.

“The issue was the modeling, the science and the assumptions they were using to come up with their analysis. Not public relations or presentation,” he told the Associated Press. “We offered NOAA suggestions of ways to improve their analysis, and they happily accepted it.”

According to the Associated Press, the report also faults the director of the White
House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, Carol Browner, for claiming during various TV appearances in August that as much as 75 percent of the oil released from the spill was gone. According to the report, the analysis cited by Browner never actually said that. Instead, it said the oil had dispersed, dissolved or evaporated — meaning it could still be there.

“By initially underestimating the amount of oil flow and then, at the end of the summer, appearing to underestimate the amount of oil remaining in the Gulf, the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent to handle the spill or not fully candid with the American people about the scope of the problem,” investigators for the commission wrote in their report.

Failing to get flow estimate right early on in the disaster also appears to have slowed the federal response to the spill, the commission said. The investigators write that “for the first ten days of the spill, it appears that a sense of over optimism affected responders.” The commission staff said it is “possible that inaccurate flow-rate figures may have hindered the sub-sea efforts to stop and to contain the flow of oil at the wellhead.”

The BP oil spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. By that time roughly 4.4 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

Transocean was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which it leased to BP. The rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 men and spawning the worst oil spill in US history.

The joint investigative panel is holding its fifth week of hearings into the disaster. During a hearing in Metairie, Louisiana yesterday, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen complained that he had been trying to get copies of the safety audits for two months. Transocean refused both an August 4 request and a September 2 request.

“Transocean has not been responsive to the requests of this joint board,” Nguyen said. “I have significant concerns with the safety-culture aspect” related to the disaster.

Nguyen said the panel also has been unable to get a specific Transocean manager to come in and testify about safety. Another panel member, Captain Mark Higgins, also complained that Transocean had “thwarted” access to some witnesses.

In an emailed statement to Bloomberg News, Transocean disputed those charges. “Transocean has produced more witnesses than any other party involved in this investigation and significant volumes of documentary evidence, including audit records of the Deepwater Horizon,” the statement said. “Any assertion to the contrary is simply not correct.”

During yesterday’s hearing, Transocean’s attorney said the company has acted in good faith and produced everything it believes it should, adding that the panel could go to court to enforce the subpoenas it issued for the documents.

As to witnesses testifying, the attorney said their availability was not in Transocean’s control.

BP agreed over the summer to fund the $20 billion compensation account. In addition to submitting claims for emergency payments for six month of losses, people and businesses impacted economically by the spill can also apply for final payment of long term damages. While claimants don’t have to surrender their right to sue BP and other responsible parties if they accept emergency payments, they will have to give up that right to collect final damages.

Ken Feinberg, the Washington D.C. lawyer tapped by the White House to administer the fund, took charge of the claims process in August. At the time, he promised the claims process would be faster than it had been when BP was handling claims.

So far, Feinberg has had problems keeping that promise. While it’s still taking longer to resolve claims than Feinberg had hoped, some who have received emergency payments have complained that they are far lower than what was requested. According to the Associated Press, the fund has so far paid out nearly $1 billion to about 50,000 claimants. However, claims officials would not provide a total amount actually requested by those claimants.

While Feinberg said he had heard complaints about low payouts and was planning to address the problem, he also told the Associated Press that claimants share some of the blame given the volume of claims filed with no proof of losses, inflated requests and fraudulent ones. Of the nearly 98,000 claims filed as of Oct. 2, about 35,000 require additional documentation and remain on hold, the Associated Press said.

In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Feinberg promised that problems would be fixed and more generous payments would come. The fund is also re-evaluating some previously paid claims and contacting claimants who believe they were short changed. In addition, Feinberg has decided that proximity to affected areas will no longer play a role in compensation approval, something that resulted in denied claims.

Some progress has been reported, according the Associated Press. In the past week, denied claims dropped from 528 to 116, as claims were paid to people and businesses initially told they would get no help.

Gallup’s findings are based on 2,598 interviews conducted from Jan. 2-Aug. 6, 2010, with residents of 25 Gulf Coast-facing counties from the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. Of these interviews, 1,239 occurred after the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. During the same period, 30,657 interviews were conducted with residents of inland counties of Gulf Coast states and 179,435 in non-Gulf states as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, again split roughly equally on either side of April 20.

Residents of Gulf Coast-facing counties reported 25.6 percent more clinical diagnoses of depression in the period after the oil spill compared with before it. Gallup noted that this question was posed as a diagnosis occurring at any point in the respondent’s life, and it does not necessarily imply that the oil spill itself created new depression incidences. However, the increase in diagnoses reveals that clinical depression along the Gulf coastline was climbing at a time when it was flat throughout the remainder of the country, Gallup’s statement said.

The Well-Being Index also measures daily mood in terms of stress, worry, and sadness experienced “a lot of the day yesterday.” Across each of these daily mood metrics, Gallup’s survey found that residents of Gulf Coast-facing counties experienced measurable increases in these negative emotions that their inland counterparts and residents of non-Gulf Coast states did not.

In addition to a decline in emotional wellbeing, Gulf coast residents’ views of their communities also suffered, according to the survey. Satisfaction with the “city or area where you live” also declined modestly after the oil spill in the Gulf Coast-facing states, as did the percentage of people who believe that their city or area is “getting better as a place to live.” Again, Gallup said it did not find the same declines in emotional wellbeing among respondents who live further inland.

According to an Associated Press report, the level of mental illness seen in the Gallup survey was similar to that seen six months after Hurricane Katrina decimated the coast five years ago, and experts aren’t yet seeing any improvement in mental health five months after the oil crisis began.

Gallup’s statement asserted that its findings provide supporting evidence of the need for enhanced psychological assistance for residents of Gulf Coast counties, and for the targeting of these efforts to residents living along the coastline itself rather than all residents living in the affected states.

BP has provided $52 million for mental health care in the Gulf region, with $15 million going to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals; $12 million each to the states of Alabama and Mississippi; $3 million to Florida; and $10 million to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Associated Press said.

The April 20 explosion aboard The Deepwater Horizon oil rig spawned what now ranks as the worst oil spill in US history. In addition to killing 11 men aboard the rig, the explosion caused more than 4 million barrels of oil to spew into the Gulf of Mexico until the well was finally contained on July 15.

BP had already announced the departure of CEO Tony Hayward in July, effective October 1. He will be replaced by American Bob Dudley, who has been overseeing BP’s spill response. In announcing the restructuring, BP said it was designed to improve safety and rebuild confidence in the company after the disaster.

“These are the first and most urgent steps in a program I am putting in place to rebuild trust in BP,” Dudley said in a statement. “That trust is vital to the restoration of shareholder value which has been so adversely affected by recent events.”

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, a BP spokesperson said the restructuring will give Dudley a more direct and detailed view of safety and operations in the company’s upstream division than his predecessors had. The Exploration and Production division, formerly headed by Inglis, will be split into three divisions – Exploration, Development, and Production. The three executives running those divisions will report directly to Dudley, the Journal said.

The restructuring will create a new Safety and Operational Risk division, with staff assigned to every business unit who will have the power to intervene if safety standards are breached, the company said in a statement. The staff assigned to monitor safety will report through their own shorter chain of command, rather than through existing business lines where other operational concerns in addition to safety are a factor, the spokesperson said. No word yet, though, on the number of safety staff nor where they will be assigned, the Journal said.

BP will also conduct two reviews into some of the fundamental ways it does business that have been linked to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The company will examine how it manages relationships with third-party contractors, and it will review how its business incentives affect safety and risk management, the Journal said.

This is not the first time a disaster has caused a major restructuring at BP. It did so after a fatal 2005 accident at its Texas City refinery. And in 2007, then-incoming CEO Hayward promised to focus “like a laser” on safety.

To measure the flow, two scientists from Columbia University used high-resolution video from underwater cameras to track the motion of turbulent billows and flows in the water. The images were then broken down into pixels. According to a USA Today report, the scientists’ calculations are based on just a few short clips of high-resolution video because that is all BP has released so far. The true figures could still be higher.

“This is not the last word. It is the first peer-reviewed word. But we think it’s a really good ballpark,” one of the researchers told USA Today.

Though higher, the new number isn’t that far off from government estimates of 172 million gallons. But many people were suspicious of that figure, mainly because prior estimates were revised so many times. Federal officials first used BP’s estimate that 42,000 gallons a day were leaking, and then upped it to 210,000 gallons a day. In mid-June, they said the well could be leaking as much as 2.4 million gallons a day.

The BP oils spill began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men on April 20. All attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap was successfully deployed over the well on July 15. The well wasn’t declared officially dead until this past Sunday.

The BP oil spill now ranks as the worst oil disaster in US history.

Researchers hope to enroll 27,000 people who participated in oil spill cleanup. Recruitment of volunteers will begin next month. The expert committee formed by the Institute of Medicine met in Tampa, Florida yesterday to discuss how to conduct the study.

Crude oil contains components, such as benzene, napthalene and toluene, which are toxic to humans. Benzene is known to cause leukemia, while napthalene is a suspected human carcinogen. Benzene and toluene, along with xylene, another component of oil, can also cause respiratory irritation and affect the central nervous system.

Oil also releases hydrogen sulfide gas, which can damage the brain and central nervous system as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are considered likely carcinogens.

In the early months of the spill, more than 300 individuals, three-fourths of whom were cleanup workers, sought medical care for constitutional symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, cough, respiratory distress, and chest pain in Louisiana alone. These symptoms are typical of acute exposure to hydrocarbons or hydrogen sulfide.

Despite these hazards, little research has been done on the health consequences of oil spills. According to the Associated Press, of the 38 large oil tanker spills in past 50 years, only 8 were studied for human health effects.

Following the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men and set off the worst oil spill in US history, about 2,000 commercial fishing vessels and charter boats participated in spill cleanup via BP’s “Vessels of Opportunity” program. The program provided some commercial fisherman whose businesses were shut down by the spill with a chance to earn income.

Reportedly, BP claims representatives had told participating fishermen that the income earned from the program would not be deducted from their loss of income claims, but when Feinberg took over the process in August, he made the opposite ruling. Fishermen in the region complained that they felt misled, and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La, wrote Feinberg last week urging him to reverse course.

While Feinberg’s reversal will make thousands of commercial fishermen happy, it seems the BP oil spill claims process is still beset with problems. According to a report in the Press-Register, several business owners in Alabama are complaining that emergency payments issued by Feinberg are only a fraction of the amount requested. One wedding planner who specializes in beach weddings – a business that pretty much shut down this summer because of the spill – told the Press-Register that she requested $240,000 to cover six months’ worth of lost business, but received just $7,700. The decision on the emergency claim, which can’t be appealed, has left the business with no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

There are similar cases, according to the Press-Register. In one instance, the operator of a seafood restaurant received a check for $16,000 on a claim of $159,000. One accountant in Gulf Shores who has assisted hundreds of people with claims said not a single client has received their full request. None of those interviewed by the Press-Register were given any information about why the checks differed so substantially from their submitted claims.

As we’ve reported previously, the Gulf Coast Claims Center has also been criticized for taking too long to resolve emergency claims. When Feinberg took over in August, he promised the claims process would be faster than it had been when BP was handling claims. But earlier this month, he backed away from that promise, telling ProPublica that the lengthy and complex supporting documentation claimants are required to submit “requires careful scrutiny and attention to assure that each claimant will be afforded the benefit of the most generous payment.” Feinberg also told the New Orleans Time-Picayune that his staff was having trouble keeping up with fully documented claims. He said that he has 25 people working in shifts around the clock to review the claims, and they are able to get through an average of about 1,000 a day.

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility allows businesses and individuals to submit emergency claims for six months worth of losses. In addition, claimants can also apply for final payment of long term damages. While claimants don’t have to surrender their right to sue BP and other responsible parties if they accept emergency payments, they will have to give up that right to collect final damages. Decisions on emergency claims can’t be appealed.

According to information released by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, it has so far approved 13,462 claims and denied one. It has sent 3,420 back to the claimants with a request for more paperwork. The remaining 38,481 are waiting to be reviewed.

The BP oil spill began on April 20, when a massive explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 men. More than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the ocean before BP was able to cap the well from above on July 15. Hundreds of miles of US coastline were fouled by oil, and the Gulf Coast’s vital seafood and tourism industries were devastated in the aftermath.

In a statement released over the weekend, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen declared BP’s well was “effectively dead” and said tests verified the strength of a cement plug placed at its bottom. “Additional regulatory steps will be undertaken, but we can now state, definitively, that the Macondo well poses no continuing threat to the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

A relief well that BP had been drilling since May finally intersected the ruptured well on Thursday. Over the weekend, the well was killed by pumping mud up through its bottom, and then it was sealed with the cement plug.

There’s still no consensus on how much damage the BP oil spill actually caused, as the cleanup is still ongoing. As we’ve reportedly previously, a government report released in August maintained that 3/4 of the oil was already gone, or was being broken down by bacteria. However, other scientists disagree. Last month, for example, we reported that scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had discovered an underwater plume of hydrocarbons 22 miles long deep beneath the surface of the ocean, casting doubts on the government’s optimistic claims.

Thousands of people and businesses along the Gulf Coast are still waiting for their compensation claims to be paid, and lawsuits stemming from the disaster will take years to resolve. BP and its partners on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig face numerous investigations, some of them criminal. Finally, the oil industry as a whole is facing greater scrutiny, and the specter of more government oversight and regulation.

The BP oil spill began on April 20, when a massive explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 men. More than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the ocean before BP was able to cap the well from above on July 15. Hundreds of miles of US coastline were fouled by oil, and the Gulf Coast’s vital seafood and tourism industries were devastated in the aftermath. BP has already spent more than $8 billion responding to the spill.

A statement from BP did not say when the final operation will begin. However, the oil company said it should be completed sometime Saturday.

According to BP’s statement, tests showed there was no cement or oil and gas in the annulus -the space between the well’s metal casing and the surrounding rock – at the point where it was intercepted by the relief well. As a result, BP said there is no need to perform a “bottom kill”, a procedure where heavy drilling mud would be pumped into the annulus through the relief well. Instead, crews will pump only cement into the annulus for the final seal.

Of course, the disaster is far from over. The environmental cleanup could take years, and no one knows how long it will take the delicate Gulf Coast ecosystem to recover. And of course, there are still thousand of people whose incomes were destroyed by the spill waiting for their compensation claims to be paid.

Finally, BP and its partners on the Deepwater Horizon rig face a number of civil and criminal investigations, and the litigation surrounding the oil spill is likely to continue for years.

Existing regulations already require wells to be plugged and platforms to be dismantled within one year after a lease is terminated. But under the new rules, companies must decommission unused equipment even if the leases are still active.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, there are 3,500 non-producing wells in the Gulf of Mexico, and 650 oil and gas platforms that are no longer in use. When they are finished with a well, gas and oil producers often seal them temporarily, in case they want to reopen it a later time. Permanently sealing a well, as the government is demanding, makes it nearly impossible to reopen it.

But the Interior Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement say plugging the idle wells is necessary.

“As infrastructure continues to age, the risk of damage increases. That risk increases substantially during storm season,” Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said in a statement. “This initiative is the product of careful thought and analysis and requires that these wells, platforms and pipelines are plugged and dismantled correctly and in a timely manner to substantially reduce such hazards.”

According to the statement, oil and gas firms will have 120 days to submit a company-wide plan for decommissioning affected facilities and wells. The plans must contain details for each individual well and facility, including specific dates for the submission of related permits and for commencing and completing decommissioning work. After the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has approved a company’s decommissioning plan, bureau officials will track the progress of each company and of the industry as a whole.

Producers, of course, are crying foul over this new initiative. One expert told The Wall Street Journal that the cost to plug idle wells and remove unused structures could total $1.4 billion to $3.5 billion. Producers also could potentially give up as much as $18 billion in revenue from future production.

But, the same Journal article also points out that the initiative is likely to increase employment in the area. Yesterday’s announcement boosted the stock prices of some oil-field service and offshore drilling companies, as investors bet the companies could profit from new government-mandated work, the Journal said.

BP agreed over the summer to fund the $20 billion compensation account. In addition to submitting claims for emergency payments for six month of losses, people and businesses impacted economically by the spill can also apply for final payment of long term damages. While claimants don’t have to surrender their right to sue BP and other responsible parties if they accept emergency payments, they will have to give up that right to collect final damages.

Ken Feinberg, the Washington D.C. lawyer tapped by the White House to administer the fund, took charge of the claims process last month. At the time, he promised the claims process would be faster than it had been when BP was handling claims.

According to the Miami-Herald, the vast majority of Florida claims remain unresolved. Of the 17,105 emergency claims submitted by the state’s residents and businesses so far, 5,134 have been settled by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. None of the state’s 1,360 “final” claims have been resolved. Floridians have so far received less than $40 million.

Yesterday, Gov. Charlie Crist criticized the claims process.

“I think it would be more than appropriate for us (the governor and Cabinet) to co-sign a letter encouraging increased urgency,” Crist said. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for (some businesses) to be able to hang on. Twenty billion is no small sum of change, but it’s no good unless it’s utilized.”

Feinberg had said previously that claims from business not in the immediate proximity and without clear documentation that they lost money will not be paid. That’s been difficult for many Florida businesses, because the entire tourism industry in the state took a huge hit this summer because of perceptions about the spill, even though many of the state’s beaches remained oil free.

Yesterday, speaking before the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Feinberg did indicate he might be willing to be a little more flexible.

“I was skeptical of the eligibility of lodging and restaurants far from the spill. I still am skeptical,” Feinberg said. “But I must say, that having spent a good deal of time chatting … I’m trying to help. I’m walking a tight rope.”

But he also cautioned he was making “no promises” and pointed out that if proximity to the spill was not given relevance, the claims center would “be inundated with claims from 50 states.”

In court papers, BP and its partners in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, including Transocean Ltd and Halliburton Co, argued that any lawsuits should be delayed until the “bedrock issue of whether a large number of the plaintiffs should even be before the court’’ is resolved.

The $20 bilion BP-funded Gulf Coast Claims Facility is being administered by Kenneth Feinberg. It has so far approved 13,462 claims and denied one.

More than 300 oil spill damage lawsuits have been consolidated before Judge Carl Barbier in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. If the judge goes along with BP's wishes, the litigtion will be delayed by months.

Understandably, plaintiffs oppose the move, and urged the court to begin expanded discovery next month. The plaintiffs want test trials to start in March.

The Claims Facility was set up to expedite payments to oil spill victims, but many complain that is not happening.  In fact, many claims seem to be in limbo. According to the Claims Facility's own numbers, 3,420 clims have been retuned  to the claimants with a request for more paperwork. The remaining 38,481 are waiting to be reviewed.

Feinberg has acknowledge that his staff is overwhelmed.  He said that he has 25 people working in shifts around the clock to review the claims, and they are able to get through an average of about 1,000 a day.

Feinberg made those promises last month, when he took over the claims process from BP. But a spokesperson for Feinberg told ProPublica last week that, among other things, the lengthy and complex supporting documentation claimants are required to submit “requires careful scrutiny and attention to assure that each claimant will be afforded the benefit of the most generous payment.”

“The announced 48-hour claim determination rule for individual claims, and the 7-day claim determination rule for business claims will be extended as necessary and appropriate,” Feinberg’s spokeswoman Amy Weiss said. “The policy remains to review all individual and business claims as quickly as possible.”

Last week, Feinberg apologized to those affected by the delays. He told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that many claims could not be processed because people hadn’t submitted required documentation, but acknowledged that his staff was having trouble keeping up with fully documented claims. He said that he has 25 people working in shifts around the clock to review the claims, and they are able to get through an average of about 1,000 a day

So far, more than 55,000 compensation claims have been filed. As of September 8, Feinberg’s staff had paid 10,252 claims for nearly $80 million. Most claims paid are small, with payouts of $5,000 or less.

According to information released by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, Florida claimants have received the most payments: 4,323 for $25.8 million. Louisiana claimants got the most money: $43.8 million from 3,580 claims. Alabama is third in both regards, with 3,279 claims paid worth $19.6 million. Mississippi is fourth, with 1,154 claims paid worth $10.3 million.

The claims facility has approved 13,462 claims and denied one. It has sent 3,420 back to the claimants with a request for more paperwork. The remaining 38,481 are waiting to be reviewed.

BP agreed over the summer to fund the $20 billion compensation account. In addition to submitting claims for emergency payments for six month of losses, people and businesses impacted economically by the spill can also apply for payment of long term damages. While claimants don’t have to surrender their right to sue BP and other responsible parties if they accept emergency payments, they will have to give up that right to collect for long term damages.

Ken Feinberg, the Washington D.C. lawyer tapped by the White House, took over the administration of the $20 billion BP oil spill compensation fund last month. At the time, he promised the claims process would be faster than it had been when BP was handling claims.

But it appears reality is falling short of that promise. One restaurant owner whose business lost $45,000 this summer, and only got $15,000 when BP was taking care of claims, told NPR that the process is still bogged down. The diner filed for $120,000 to stay afloat through January, but has only received $4,500 since the August takeover.

The new claims process does not allow appeals for the emergency payment, so the diner’s options are limited.

“We can file the final claim, give up all right to sue,” the business owner said. “Or we can retain an attorney. Or we can file bankruptcy and walk away from it all.”

Feinberg told NPR that he realizes now that he promised more than he has been able to deliver given the complexity and sheer volume of claims. The process, he said, has been made difficult by problems that include duplicate claims, or no proof of lost income.

“It’s taken longer than I thought,” Feinberg says. “And that criticism, the false expectations that have been raised, I think are justifiable.”

In an interview with USA Today, Feinberg promised a better response times as his staff weeds through old claims. “I’ve inherited a huge number of claims that have never been processed that need to be processed, especially business claims,” he said. Such claims, he said, were placed on a “side track” by BP when it was handling the process.

According to USA Today, more than 46,000 people have filed claims since Feinberg took charge. By September 8, his staff had paid 10,252 claims for nearly $80 million. Most claims paid are small, with payouts of $5,000 or less, USA Today said.

Transocean is the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which exploded on April 20 and spawned the massive BP oil spill. Halliburton cemented the undersea well.

BP’s report cited its own workers for failing to correctly evaluate negative-pressure tests the day of the blast, but the investigation also found that the oil company’s well design was not to blame for the catastrophe.

The study listed eight failures BP said caused the disaster. These included “weaknesses in cement design and testing, quality assurance and risk assessment” conducted by Halliburton. Transocean’s rig crew and BP well site leaders were cited for having “reached the incorrect view that the test [of cementing the well to close it] was successful and that well integrity had been established.” The report also said the Transocean crew “did not recognize the influx (of hydrocarbons) and did not act to control the well until hydrocarbons had passed” through the blowout preventer on the sea floor and into the riser pipe that went to the rig.

Both Transocean and Halliburton are taking exception to BP’s findings. Transocean, in particular, disputed BP’s contention that its well design did not play a role in the blowout.

“This is a self-serving report that attempts to conceal the critical factor that set the stage for the Macondo incident: BP’s fatally flawed well design. In both its design and construction, BP made a series of cost-saving decisions that risk – in some cases, severely,” Transocean said in a statement.

Halliburton maintained that BP, as the owner of the well, signed off on every step of its work.

“Deepwater operations are inherently complex and a number of contractors are involved which routinely make recommendations to a single point of contact, the well owner,” Halliburton said in a statement. “The well owner is responsible for designing the well program and any testing related to the well. Contractors do not specify well design or make decisions regarding testing procedures as that responsibility lies with the well owner.”

The BP report was criticized by others as well. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, dismissed the report, and said he was waiting for the “real story.”

“Just as the environmental damage did not end with the capping of BP’s well, this company-run investigation is not the end of the inquiries into the BP oil spill,” Markey said in a statement. “This report is not BP’s mea culpa. Of their own eight key findings, they only explicitly take responsibility for half of one.”

Some environmental groups were also less than impressed.

“This report is more concerned with calming BP’s shareholders than taking responsibility for its actions,” Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Houston Chronicle.

The report is based on a four-month investigation led by Mark Bly, BP’s Head of Safety and Operations. Its key findings include:

• The cement and shoe track barriers – and in particular the cement slurry that was used – at the bottom of the Macondo well failed to contain hydrocarbons within the reservoir, as they were designed to do, and allowed gas and liquids to flow up the production casing;

• The results of the negative pressure test were incorrectly accepted by BP and Transocean, although well integrity had not been established;

• Over a 40-minute period, the Transocean rig crew failed to recognize and act on the influx of hydrocarbons into the well until the hydrocarbons were in the riser and rapidly flowing to the surface;

• After the well-flow reached the rig it was routed to a mud-gas separator, causing gas to be vented directly on to the rig rather than being diverted overboard;

• The flow of gas into the engine rooms through the ventilation system created a potential for ignition which the rig’s fire and gas system did not prevent;

• Even after explosion and fire had disabled its crew-operated controls, the rig’s blow-out preventer on the sea-bed should have activated automatically to seal the well. But it failed to operate, probably because critical components were not working.

Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Cementing work on the platform was performed by Halliburton Co.

In a statement released this morning, outgoing BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward maintained that the investigation found that “it would appear unlikely that the well design contributed to the incident.” However, according to a report in The Washington Post, other oil company executives have said BP used a well design that was cheaper and easier to implement instead of a safer but more expensive design.

The BP report is just the first of several addressing the Deepwater Horizon disaster that is expected to be released in the coming months. The catastrophe is being investigated by several federal agencies, including the Justice Department, Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

The Post report also noted that the other parties cited in the BP report have yet to give their version of events. Transocean, in particular, recently complained that BP hasn’t turned over data that would help with its own internal investigation.

According to the Times, the legislation would also bar permits if a company had been penalized with fines of $10 million or more under the Clean Air or Clean Water Acts within a seven-year period. BP is the only company that meets the criteria for a drilling permit ban under the proposed bill.

The company said that if the legislation were adopted, it would cripple its Gulf of Mexico operations, which the Times said generate $5 billion to $7 billion in profits annually. The Gulf accounts for 11 percent of BP’s global production.

BP insists its threat doesn’t mean it is backing away from its promise to set aside $20 billion for a compensation fund to pay damage claims. But officials from both state and federal governments and others are seeking additional funds beyond the company’s legal obligations, which is what BP says would be placed in jeopardy by drilling limits. This includes Gulf Coast restoration efforts that officials want the company to voluntarily support, the Times said.

“I am not going to make a direct linkage to the $20 billion, but our ability to fund these assets and the cash coming from these assets that are securing these funds would be lost” if the House bill were enacted by Congress, a BP spokesperson told the Times.

Daniel Weiss, Chief of Staff for Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and one of the authors of the amendment, dismissed BP’s threat. “BP has substantial assets, whether they develop them or sell them,” he told the Times. “If BP needs to sell assets to meet its financial obligations, that’s a decision they have to make.”

BP said today it has spent $8 billion so far in response to the oil spill. The company also said that about 28,400 personnel, more than 4,050 vessels and dozens of aircraft were still engaged in the response effort

According to the House Energy Committee, BP spent $93.4 million – about $5 million per week – on newspaper advertisements and TV spots between April and the end of July. The ad campaign targeted mostly national and local newspapers, magazines, and national and local television stations.

BP claims that the advertising campaign was needed to inform the public about clean-up efforts and the compensation claims process. A spokesperson for the company also told The Los Angeles Times that the $93.4 million spent on advertising was a relatively small portion of BP’s total expenditures of about $6.1 billion on the oil spill to date.

But not everyone is convinced that information dissemination was BP’s true objective. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who asked for the information on advertising, accused the company of spending the money to burnish its image.

“While BP’s advertising campaign ramped up, businesses and the gulf communities struggled to deal with the costs of the disaster,” Castor said. “While BP certainly has the right to advertise, its approach has been insensitive to the taxpayers and business owners harmed by the Deepwater Horizon blowout.”

Castor called on BP to divert “a significant portion of its advertising dollars” to help tourism-dependent small businesses.

According to the Associated Press, Bureau employees must now notify a supervisor about any potential conflict of interest and step aside when inspections or other official duties involve a company that employs a family member or close personal friend. Furthermore, inspectors who join the agency from the oil industry cannot perform inspections or other work involving their former employers for two years.

Employees must also now report any incident in which contacts “attempt to bribe, harass, coerce, or improperly pressure or influence’’ a federal regulator, the Associated Press said. And they must avoid even the appearance of a conflict and report activities that “raise a question regarding his or her impartiality.”

The new policy becomes effective immediately, the Associated Press said.

The former MMS had a joint mission that critics charged created conflicts of interest. On one hand, it was supposed to be an industry watchdog. But on the other, the agency was also charged with promoting energy independence and generating government revenue from drilling on government lands. What’s more, half of the MMS budget came from the oil industry in the form of fees and rental receipts.

While the BP oil spill helped shine a light on the incompetence of the MMS, even before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, the agency was mired in scandal. As we reported previously, the inspector general for the Interior Department issued a report in May that found that staff at an MMS office in Louisiana accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies. According to the report, individuals involved in the fraternizing and gift exchange — both government and industry — often knew one another since childhood. In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the inspector general said their relationships took precedence over their jobs.

According to the Associated Press, a similar report issued in 2008 found that employees at an MMS office in Colorado had engaged in sexual relationships with energy company executives and accepting gifts from them.

According to the Ecopsychology article, Winter was a professor of psychology at Whitman College and has written extensively on the psychological dimensions of environmental damage, war, sense of place, and mindfulness. She recently co-authored the third edition of The Psychology of Environmental Problems.

While Winter predicted that symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will surface in the wake of the spill, she also said that because the disaster has played out over several months, a bigger problem will be long-range, chronic widespread depression, which will build among the people impacted as the disaster progresses.

In her interview, Winter predicted a great deal of chronic depression, withdrawal, and lack of functioning among not only people directly affected by the events in the Gulf, but also people nationwide and globally who identify or empathize with their circumstances. In a press release detailing the Ecopsychology interview, Winter characterized the anger being expressed over the BP oil spill as s “a way of masking the really unfathomable and profound despair that is just under the surface as we watch this catastrophe unfold.”

Winter’s concerns have been echoed by some recent studies. Earlier this month, for example, a survey conducted by Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, in corroboration with the Children’s Health Fund and The Marist Poll of Poughkeepsie, NY, found evidence that the BP oil spill was having significant and potentially lasting impacts on the health, mental health, and economic fortunes of Gulf Coast residents and their children and on the way they live their everyday lives. The survey also found a dramatic relationship between economic vulnerability and health effects. Adults with household incomes under $25,000 were by far the most likely to report physical and mental health effects for themselves and also among their children.

The researchers who conducted that survey called on BP to provide funds to state and local agencies involved with providing assessment and care to affected families.

A person familiar with the internal BP report told Bloomberg that pressure data from that test indicated a blowout was imminent. But because it was misinterpreted, workers aboard the rig began replacing drilling fluid in the well with seawater, a substance that was too light to prevent natural gas that was already leaking into the well from shooting up the well pipe to the rig. The gas then exploded, killing 11 workers and spawning the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

According to Bloomberg, the 200-page internal BP report was compiled by a team of BP investigators led by the company’s head of safety and operations. It concludes that the oil giant bears “partial responsibility” for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. However, it also places some blame on Transocean Ltd., the owner of the doomed rig, Bloomberg said. The findings are to be released in the next 10 days.

According to Bloomberg, one of the managers in charge of interpreting the test data on the well was put on administrative leave pending the results of BP’s internal investigation. Other workers also have been put on leave.

An eight-member investigation team from Coast Guard and the Interior Department has asked BP to turn over a copy of the report as soon as possible, Bloomberg said. That panel’s investigation is focusing on how BP employees aboard the rig and in Houston failed to detect signals that the well was about to erupt.

Meanwhile, BP’s plans to permanently kill its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico have been delayed once again, according to The Washington Post. Engineers were supposed to begin removing a temporary containment cap put in place last month in order to remove the well’s failed blowout preventer and replace it with a new piece of equipment. After that, engineers are to finish drilling a relief well that will be used to permanently plug the well with cement and mud.

According to the Post report, BP announced the postponement in a Twitter posting this morning. It did not say how long the delay will be.

According to government estimates, 4.9 million barrels of oil escaped from the well between the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the deployment of the temporary containment cap that finally stopped the flow on July 15.

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Disaster | Lawsuits, Lawyers | Affected, Lost Wages, Economic Loss | BP Oil Spill, Advance Payment, Claims Center

Claims forms for Emergency Advance Payment must be submitted to the Gulf Coast Claims Center no later than November 23, 2010. Missing this deadline will prevent you from receiving any Emergency Advance Payments. It is urgent that you file your claim by this date. If you need assistance filling out the Gulf Coast Claims Center claims form please contact us at 1 800 BIG SPILL (1-800-244-7745).

In the wake of the catastrophic BP oil spill, the oil company agreed to provide at least $20 billion to compensate victims of the disaster. The fund is being administered by Kenneth Feinberg via the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Individuals, business and governmental entities who have suffered economic and/or physical injuries due to the BP oil spill are eligible to file a claim for Emergency Advance Payment for up to six months of losses and/or physical injuries.

Claims forms for these emergency payments must be submitted to the Gulf Coast Claims Center by November 23, 2010 or claimants will waive their right to receive an Emergency Advance Payment. Claimants may accept an Emergency Advance Payment without waiving any of their legal rights.

In addition, they must also apply for final payment of long-term damages through August 23, 2013. Accepting a final payment of long-term damages requires that claimants waive their right to sue BP or any of the parties responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. You can accept an Emergency Advance Payment(s) and reject the final payment if you find it to be unsatisfactory.

Parker Waichman LLP continues to offer free consultations to individuals, businesses and governmental entities impacted by the BP oil spill. If you need assistance in filing a claim for Emergency Advance Payment from the Gulf Coast Claims Center, please call 1-800-BIG-SPILL (1-800-244-7745). If you or someone you know has sustained damages because of this disaster, we urge you to contact us immediately to protect your legal rights.

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Disaster

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion has produced the largest oil spill in the world, and has become a serious environmental catastrophe. Our oil spill lawyers are aggressively investigating this disaster, and are planning to file lawsuits on behalf of anyone who suffered physical, economic or property damages because of this explosion and resulting oil spill. We are committed to holding BP PLC and Transocean LTD accountable for the damage caused to all the southern Gulf Coast states, Louisiana, Alabama, Missiassippi, Florida and Texas by this tragic incident.

Our Oil Spill lawyers are offering free case evaluations to individuals and businesses who suffered property damage, business interruption or any type of economic loss / hardship caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 allows individuals and entities impacted by oil spills to collect compensation for property loss, loss of income and other damages caused by such incidents.  Parties deemed responsible for an oil spill are liable for such losses.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill now ranks among the worst offshore drilling disasters in recent U.S. history. After burning for more than 36 hours, the offshore rig sunk into the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of its collapse, 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour was spilling into the sea. By the following day, an oil spill measuring 100 square miles was drifting northeast toward shore.

At the same time, hope was fading that 11 men missing since the explosion would be found alive. If the missing men are not found alive, the Deepwater Horizon disaster would go down as the deadliest U.S. offshore rig explosion since 1968.

Environmental Damage from Oil Spills

The oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is raising serious environmental concerns, and could threaten the fragile ecosystem of the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. Those areas serve as nurseries for fish and shrimp and habitat for birds.

Oil spills are one of the worst environmental disasters, causing both short-term and long-term pollutant side effects. Consequences of oil spills include dead and dying wildlife, tarred beaches, damaged fisheries and contaminated water supplies. If oil waste reaches the shoreline or coast, it interacts with sediments such as beach sand and gravel, rocks and boulders, vegetation, and terrestrial habitats of both wildlife and humans, causing erosion as well as contamination.

Oil spills present the potential for enormous harm to deep ocean and coastal fishing and fisheries. The immediate effects of toxic and smothering oil waste may be mass mortality and contamination of fish and other food species, but long-term ecological effects may be worse. Oil waste poisons the sensitive marine and coastal organic substrate, interrupting the food chain on which fish and sea creatures depend, and on which their reproductive success is based. Commercial fishing enterprises may be affected permanently.

The Clean Water Act

Our oil rig spill lawyers are investigating the Deepwater Horizon disaster to determine if either BP PLC or Transocean LTD violated the federal Clean Water Act. In 1973, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established regulations to address the oil spill prevention provisions contained in the Clean Water Act. The regulation forms the basis of EPA's oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasures, or SPCC, program, which seeks to prevent oil spills from certain aboveground and underground storage tanks.

The regulation requires each owner or operator of a regulated facility to prepare an SPCC Plan. The Plan is required to address the facility's design, operation, and maintenance procedures established to prevent spills from occurring, as well as countermeasures to control, contain, clean up, and mitigate the effects of an oil spill that could affect navigable waters.

The regulations were revised on two occasions, in 1991 and 1994. The revisions incorporated new requirements added by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 that direct facility owners or operators to prepare, and in some cases submit to the federal government, plans for responding to a worst-case discharge of oil. 

The Oil Pollution Act

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) was implemented in response to the Exxon Valdez disaster. It created a comprehensive prevention, response, liability, and compensation regime to deal with vessel- and facility-caused oil pollution to U.S. navigable waters. The Oil Spill lawyers at our firm have represented hundreds of people negatively impacted by such incidents, and our knowledge of OPA liability provisions and other applicable laws has allowed us to obtain the greatest possible compensation for our clients.

Under federal law, all of the owners or other parties responsible for a vessel or a facility which causes an oil spill are liable for the removal costs and damages caused by the spill. Federal law also provides for liability of third parties if it is shown that the act or omission on the part of the third party caused an oil spill.

Under federal law, individuals can make the following oil spill damage claims:

Property Damage: Injury to or economic loss resulting from destruction of real property (land or buildings) or other personal property. Property damage claims can be made by people or entities that own or lease the damaged property. The costs of removing oil from your own property can also be included in property damage claims. Boat damage is included as a subset of property damage.

Loss of Profit and Earnings Capacity: Damages equal to the loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to the injury, destruction, or loss of property or natural resources. Anyone with loss of profits or income may make such a claim. You do not have to own the damaged property or resources to submit a claim under this category.

Loss of Subsistence Use of Natural Resources: These claims may be filed by individuals if natural resources you depend on for subsistence use purposes have been injured, destroyed, or lost by an oil spill incident. Again, you do not have to own or manage the natural resource to submit a claim under this category.

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BP Accused of Safety Violations At Another Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig

BP, the firm leasing the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last week, is facing a U.S. investigation over possible safety violations on another offshore platform. According to a report in the UK Guardian, a whistleblower has accused BP of breaking the law by not keeping key documents relating to the Atlantis oil rig.

BP denies the allegations, and says it is cooperating with the investigation.

According to The Guardian, Atlantis, which is situated 190 miles south of New Orleans, is the world’s largest platform of its kind. It began operating in 2007 in the Gulf of Mexico at one of the deepest depths in the world. The whistleblower who sparked the Atlantis investigation was employed by a contractor working for BP.

The whistleblower leaked internal BP memos from August 2008 that seem to imply that the company may not have been keeping a complete accurate record of drawings of the components used to build Atlantis. Under U.S. law, rig operators are required to keep complete, up-to-date “as-built” drawings.

One email authored by a BP executive involved in the project warned that if BP assumed the drawings were accurate and up-to-date, “this could lead to catastrophic operator errors.”

An official reply dated April 2010 to the whistleblower from BP’s office of the ombudsman seemed to acknowledge a problem. “Your concerns about the project not following the terms of its own Project Execution Plan were substantiated, and addressed by a BP Management of Change document,” it said.

The Guardian was given the ombudsman’s response by the US environmental consumer campaign group Food and Water Watch. When asked by The Guardian to authenticate the reply, BP would not comment. However, the company maintained that it has “found no evidence to substantiate the organization’s (Food and Water Watch) claims with respect to Atlantis project documentation.”

The U.S. Minerals Management Service has said it will investigate Atlantis documentation issue, after being prodded to do so by the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. A report is expected by the end of next month.

The Deepwater Horizon explosion, which has spawned a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the questions surrounding the Atlantis platform are just the latest events to put a spotlight on BP’s safety record. Last year, the company was fined $87 million by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failing to correct safety violations at the Texas City refinery. In March 2005, an explosion and fire at Texas City killed 15 workers.

The Minerals Management Service is expected to launch an investigation into the Deepwater Horizon disaster this week. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has also opened a probe into the explosion and spill.

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Legal Help for BP's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Claims

Individuals who suffered damages from the oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill need to obtain legal counsel with experience in the area of oil spill liability as soon as possible. The Oil Spill lawyers at our firm have helped hundreds of people affected by such catastrophes, and we will work hard to make sure that your rights under the OPA and other federal laws are protected. Please fill out our online form or call 1-888-BIG-SPILL (1-888-244-7745) to discuss your case with an experienced oil spill lawyer today.

Bloomberg — April 27, 2010 — April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Anastasia Haydulina reports on the clean-up operation after the BP-leased rig Deepwater Horizon caught fire and sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico. BP, which is battling an underwater well leak streaming 1,000 barrels of oil a day into the sea, said today profit more than doubled in the first quarter on higher oil prices.

CBSNewsOnline — April 26, 2010 — A man-made disaster is developing in the Gulf of Mexico as a huge amount of oil leaks from the drilling rig that recently exploded and sank. As Kelly Cobiella tells us, it's headed toward land.

April 26, 2010 — The Coast Guard is working around the clock to secure a 1,000 gallon-a-day oil leak from a rig that exploded off the Louisiana coast last week.

CBS — April 23, 2010 — While an environmental catastrophe may have been averted, the oil slick covering 5 square miles still poses a threat.

CBS — April 22, 2010 — The oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico has the potential to become an environmental disaster.

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