Gulf Oil Spill Criminal and Civil Damages Could Exceed Exxon Valdez Spill

A Department of Justice criminal investigation into the BP oil spill could expose the oil giant and other companies involved to a multitude of criminal charges and civil claims -- and expose them to damages that could exceed the $1.9 billion in fines, penalties and interest Exxon paid for the 1989 Valdez oil spill.

As with Exxon after the Valdez spill, BP could face prosecution for various environmental violations. After the Valdez spill, Exxon pleaded guilty in 1991 to violating the clean Water Act, the Refuse Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and agreed to pay $100 million to settle those criminal charges. It was the largest single environmental criminal recovery ever.

But for BP and the two other companies involved, the sanctions could be worse -- or at least that's what some members of Congress are suggesting. The three companies -- BP, Halliburton and Transocean -- also could face additional criminal charges if investigators determined they either lied in the permitting process or tried to cover up the gravity of the spill. If DOJ believes the companies lied to the government, they could face felony charges for making false statements, as well as possible obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges.

Then there are the civil claims. Exxon in 1991 also agreed to settle all federal and state civil claims by paying $900 million in damages, and the company set aside another $100 million to cover any unforeseen environmental damages. A subsequent class action determined that Exxon owed $5 billion in punitive damages to people harmed by the spill. After years of litigation, the Supreme Court ultimately cut that award to $507.7 million. The company also paid an additional $470 million in interest.

A 1990 law passed in response to Valdez spill could conceivably limit some of BP's costs, since the law caps damages for lost wages and economic suffering at $75 million. But the law does not limit criminal penalties.

Public Beach in La. Closed as Oil Washes Up
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Oil Spill: One Month Later

[annphilip]

Planetresource.net has a Eco friendly solution to clean up the tragedy British Petroleum has created, please watch the video animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60bdQQQ3iVw and pass this along to as many people as you know.

One person can still make a difference in this world, is that simple interactions have a rippling effect. Each time this gets pass along, the hope in cleaning our planet is passed on.

[noloyalisti]

Did Exxon even pay any money for their spill? They own and run the government for profit. They are a bunch of right wing rich white guys. They have other people pay for them.

[sjc_1]

Exxon was suppose to pay $5 billion, they paid 1/10th that amount after 20 years and the court let them off the hook. They paid more for lawyers and legal fees over those 20 years than payments to the fishing industry which was wiped out.

[antoniof123]

Wow, you ask an Obama basher what Obama should do the answer he should suck it up.

What kind of fools do you take Americans for maybe your followers are that dumb but not most.

Don't worry Drill Baby Drill will play a big role in the coming months.

LOL......

[GeraldGraham]

Apparently, if the U. S. Clean Water Act is strictly enforced, and if criminal negligence is involved, as it very well could be, BP could be fined up to $1000 per day PER BARREL of oil spilled. And given the current political climate in Washington, coupled with rampant public anger towards BP, one is hard-pressed to imagine a situation in which the authorities are going to be lenient with the polluter when it comes to enforcement of the regulations. Thus, the fines under this Act alone could end up in the billions.

[rainbowroosie]

BP execs --- a quote from Monopoly --- Go to Jail, go directly to Jail.

Start incarcerating the senior people and see if others start to take some EFFECTIVE action...

[dss111]

COULD?????? When non-BP scientists say that the blowout (not a "leak" or "spill") equals the Exxon Valdez EVERY 2 DAYS????? When is CBSnews going to stop shilling for big business, regardless how irresponsible it acts? Can't CBSnews act responsibly for at least once when the interest of megacorporations are at stake?

[nearl451]

Well the penalities should exceed those of the Valdez, provided they are tied to the ramifications.

[GrannyCares]

This has been going on for over a month, and the Obama Administration has done NOTHING BUT POINT THE FINGERS AT OTHERS!! On May 21, Robert Gibbs provided the feeble excuse that 'it was all about who was going to pay for the clean up." For Pete's sake, they were not concerned about who was going to pay for the following:

* The Stimulus
* The Auto Bailouts
* The TARP
* OBAMACARE
* The Bank in Chicago where Valerie Jarrett served on the board

But, when it comes to saving jobs in the Delta, LA, MS, and AL -- not to mention FL, Obama seems to be totally impotent! WHY?

A bigger question is now looming over his administration: WHY HAVE A DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR; HOME LAND SECURITY; OR DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE THEM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE WHO PAY TAXES??

The Obama Administration is coming across as the most incompetent in modern history. They are proving as each day goes by that it is ALL ABOUT THEM, AND NOT ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF THE USA!

[bajajohn1]

As a matter of tort law, the legal principle of 'res ipsa loquitor', or "the thing speaks for itself" wherein the instrumentality of the tort [the oil drilling rig] was fully in control of the tortfeasors, will enable most juries to hold the parties jointly and severally liable. The damage to the environment, both flora and fauna, saddens and staggers the imagination. As a matter of criminal law given the known and reported facts, the offense of criminal negligence comes to mind.

[Renewable216]

Call in the military !