Story first appeared on Los Angeles Times -
A federal judge in New Orleans accepted an agreement for BP to plead
guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record fine in connection
with the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which ranks as one of the
nation’s worst environmental disasters.
The agreement, announced in November, allowed a unit of the
London-based oil giant to plead guilty Tuesday to 11 counts of seaman’s
manslaughter in connection with the explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon
oil rig in the gulf. The company also entered a guilty plea to one felony count
of obstruction of Congress and two environmental misdemeanors.
The company was fined $4 billion in connection with the spill and was
given five years’ probation.
Tuesday’s court action ends the company’s current criminal issues, but
is just one step in the ongoing proceedings related to the disaster. Four
current or former BP employees have been indicted on criminal charges. BP has
separately agreed to a $7.8-billion settlement with lawyers representing Gulf
Coast residents and businesses and could be assessed more than $17 billion
under the Clean Water Act.
“Today’s guilty plea and sentencing represent a significant step
forward in the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to seek justice on behalf
of those affected by one of the worst environmental disasters in American
history,” Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a statement. “I’m pleased to
note that more than half of this landmark resolution -- which totals $4 billion
in penalties and fines and represents the single largest criminal resolution
ever -- will help to provide direct support to Gulf Coast residents as
communities throughout the region continue to recover and rebuild.”
At the hearing, BP again apologized for the deaths and for the spill.
“We -- and by that I mean the men and the women of the management of
BP, its board of directors and its many employees -- are deeply sorry for the
tragic loss of the 11 men who died and the others who were injured that day,”
Luke Keller, a vice president of BP America Inc., said in a statement. “Our
guilty plea makes clear BP understands and acknowledges its role in that
tragedy, and we apologize -- BP apologizes -- to all those injured and
especially to the families of the lost loved ones. BP is also sorry for the harm
to the environment that resulted from the spill, and we apologize to the
individuals and communities who were injured.”
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance in New Orleans called the agreement
a reasonable disposition of the case. Before she ruled, she heard from
relatives of some of the 11 workers who died on the Deepwater Horizon when the
Macondo oil well blew out on April 20, 2010.
“I've heard and I truly understand your feelings and the losses you
suffered,” she said.
Billy Anderson, whose 35-year-old son, Jason, of Midfield, Texas, died
in the blast, recalled the trauma of watching the disaster play out on
television.
“These men suffered a horrendous death,” he said, according to the
Associated Press. “They were basically cremated alive and not at their choice.”
According to the Justice Department, Vance found, “among other things,
that the consequential fines imposed under the plea agreement far exceed any
imposed in U.S. history, and are structured so that BP will feel the full brunt
of the penalties. She also noted that the agreement provides just punishment
and significant deterrence, requiring detailed drilling safeguards, monitors
and other stringent, special conditions of probation so that BP’s future
conduct will be closely watched.”
About $2.4 billion is earmarked for the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation and will go for restoration and preservation of systems damaged by
the spill. An additional $350 million will go to the National Academy of
Sciences for research, the Justice Department said.
BP agreed to pay nearly $1.3 billion in fines, the largest such penalty
in U.S. history, surpassing a $1.2-billion fine against drug maker Pfizer in
2009. It also received five years' probation, the maximum term. The company is
also required to have a safety and risk management monitor and an independent
auditor. It will also have to have an ethics monitor to ensure full candor with
the government.
Those still awaiting trial include BP rig supervisors Robert Kaluza and
Donald Vidrine, who are charged with manslaughter and are accused of
disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings. David Rainey, BP's former vice
president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico, was charged with withholding
information from Congress about the amount of oil that was pouring out of the
well into the gulf. Former BP engineer Kurt Mix was charged with deleting text
messages about the company's spill response.
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