Gulf Coast Disaster - Thursday News Roundup, July 15
Posted July 15, 2010 in Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, The Media and the Environment
Day 87
Highlights in this issue:
- Oil stops flowing for the first time since April 20
- Cap won’t stop all oil – Adm. Allen
- BP resumes test of leaking well
- Congress gets tough with BP
- Feinberg: BP fund will be more generous than lawsuits
- Questions mount on BP’s role in Lockerbie bomber release
This afternoon’s summary:
After a tense few hours to repair a sudden leak, BP got back on track Thursday to test the containment cap to see if it can withstand the pressure and shut down the leaking well. After an hour, BP announced that oil had stopped flowing for the first time since April 20. Meanwhile, Kenneth Feinberg, who’s in charge of BP’s $20 billion escrow fund, tells the public today that the payout is a much better deal than filing a lawsuit in federal court. In another development, there is increasing question about BP’s role, if any, in the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Four Senators want to know if BP pressured the British government to release him. And Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., tells MSNBC that the BP oil spill ought to help the Senate pass climate change legislation. “I think the spill has actually helped us. The public wants us to act boldly on this,” he said.
Quotable Quote:
“We do not think that BP should be allowed to drill until we have resolution on this issue (the Lockerbie bomber)," Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said. Although the U.S. doesn't have the authority to call such a moratorium, "we are calling the UK to assist us in this," she said.
National News
Breaking news
Newser.com: BP says oil stopped flowing
BP says oil has stopped leaking into the Gulf for the first time since April. BP has been slowly dialing down the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the busted well holds. Kent Wells, a BP vice president, said at a news briefing that oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25 p.m. CDT.
It was a long-awaited milestone in one of the nation's worst environmental disasters. While not a permanent solution to plug the busted well, the success in capturing the oil spewing out was welcome news
Read more:
http://www.newser.com/article/d9gvmd3g0/bp-says-oil-stops-gushing-from-busted-well-after-valves-shut-on-new-cap.html
Los Angeles Times: BP resumes test of leaking well
"We are ready now to restart the procedure," said Thad Allen, the retired U.S. Coast Guard admiral who is heading up the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. BP began again Thursday to test the leaking oil well in the Gulf to BP well to determine if the well's piping beneath the sea floor is strong enough to withstand a full seal from a new cap.
Read more:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/07/with-a-leaky-piece-of-undersea-equipment-repaired-engineerswere-ready-to-begin-a-twice-delayed-test-of-the-leaking-bp-well-t.html
Los Angeles Times: Cap won’t stop all oil – Adm. Allen
Ret. Adm. Thad Allen gave the public a dose of reality Thursday about the oil spill’s rescue efforts. A new cap atop BP's leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is not intended to shut off all the oil flow until a relief well intercepts and kills the leak, he said. And to play it safe, BP will proceed with a four-vessel oil-capture system at the ocean's surface after finishing a pressure test on the well in the next 48 hours.
Read more:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-bp-gulf-oil-cap,0,7622175.story
Bloomberg: Congress gets tough with BP
A congressional panel approved a measure Thursday barring BP Plc from new U.S. offshore leases to drill for oil or natural gas because of safety violations, sending the legislation for a vote by the full House. “While the incident in the Gulf does not signal the end of drilling off America’s coasts, it certainly is a game changer and is proof positive that broad reforms are needed,” said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Read more by Jeff Plurgis
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-15/bp-would-be-barred-from-new-u-s-offshore-leases-in-measure-sent-to-house.html
Check this one out, too
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/07/gulf-oil-spill-congress-moves-oil-legislation.html
Bloomberg: Feinberg: BP fund will be more generous than a lawsuit
Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing a $20 billion fund to pay damage claims from BP Plc’s oil spill, pledged to create a system “more generous and more beneficial” to spill victims than taking the company to court. We’re not sure what this really means yet because plenty of Gulf residents are still complaining that they are being shortchanged by the BP escrow fund.
Read more:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-15/feinberg-says-bp-fund-will-be-generous-better-than-lawsuits.html
New York Daily News: Questions mount on BP’s role in Lockerbie bomber release
Four senators from New York and New Jersey are calling for an investigation into BP's alleged involvement in the release of the Lockerbie Bomber and for a moratorium on Libyan oil drilling. They want to know if BP is paying off Louisiana shrimpers with "blood money" flowing from a dirty deal to free the Lockerbie bomber in exchange for Libyan oil
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/14/2010-07-
Check this out, too:
http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/another-reason-to-hate-bp-lobbying-for-lockerbie-bomber/19555765
MainJustice.com: Attorney General looking at all companies connected to spill
Attorney General Eric Holder repeated his pledge that the Justice Department will look beyond BP and hold responsible any companies found liable for the Gulf oil spill. “We’re looking at all the companies involved in the spill. We’re bound and determined to hold all of them accountable.”
Read more:
http://www.mainjustice.com/2010/07/15/holder-doj-looking-into-all-responsible-for-spill/
Editorial
Times-Picayune: Oil spill hearing opens eyes on moratorium
It only took two days of testimony for the leaders of the president's oil spill commission to grasp how devastating the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling is for Louisiana's economy, and to call for it to be lifted sooner, the Times-Picayune writes.
Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/oil_spill_hearing_opens_eyes_o.html
Wall Street Journal Letter: A well-qualified spill commission
This is no time for misdirected attacks that promote an "us against them" mentality... this is a time when the nation most needs to work together to forge a better pathway and prevent a repetition of the mistakes that led to this catastrophe, writes Richard Lazarus, Executive Director, BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission
Read more:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580104575361260126276590.html
Huffington Post: Take a few lessons from 9-11 for Gulf coast victims
The environmental damage and economic consequences of the Gulf disaster will be difficult enough to overcome without making the victims suffer unnecessarily by repeating the mistakes of the past. So here are a few lessons from the damage claims for the 9-11 victims that bear repeating to avoid again, writes Anthony DePalma.
Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-depalma/gulf-cleanup-workers-and_b_647426.html
Regional
Al.com: Oil-related illnesses grow in Alabama
At least 80 people have been treated for oil-related symptoms, the Alabama Department of Public Health officials reported Thursday.
Read more:
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/health_officials_at_least_80_t.html
Feature
Miami Herald: Time to take killer whale home to Puget Sound
A rallying cry to return Lolita, the killer whale, to her original home in Puget Sound is growing intense as oil and toxic dispersants drift toward the Florida Coast. It is a critical time to remove the orca and the other animals from Miami's Seaquarium - before oil reaches the area, said Howard Garrett of Orca Network, who has been trying for years to convince the aquarium owners to return Lolita to Puget Sound.
Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/15/1731583/puget-orca-at-miami-seaquarium.html#ixzz0tmQOOhYW
Graphics:
See live video of BP testing the well
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/view_live_video_feed_of_bp_gul.html
Huffington Post: Map shows economic impact of spill across Gulf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/oil-spill-economic-impact_n_646016.html
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Comments
Jim Bullis, Miastrada Company — Jul 15 2010 06:20 PM
Stopping the oil flow; whoopee.
But hold on a minute. This action could have been done by bolting a flat steel plate on at the flange. Yes, that would have been possible on day 2.
What is the difference here? Answer: Production can begin under control of the new apparatus.
So now we are back to my initial charge; Duplicity of motives on the part of BP.
But not so fast Jim, (that's me). We have now come to understand that this action to stop the flow will very likely lead to vertical flow of oil outside the casing.
Maybe with the flow stopped it will be easier to pound cement into the geological structure. Better be quick about it before much oil starts to flow upwards in the secondary paths.
But now we discover that the work on repair bore holes known as 'relief wells' has stopped. Why? Somebody must be nuts.
Actually, the new bore holes might be of better use if they actually were turned into relief wells as originally advertised. that would give oil a way to flow upward without forcing itself up through the sea bed floor at unmanageable locations.