The final "kill" of the breached Deepwater Horizon Macondo well in September marked a milestone in the ongoing transition from maximum emergency response efforts to studied analysis of the event's import. Now, much activity at the well site and in the surrounding Gulf of Mexico waters is focused upon learning from the horrific accident, as academic and government scientists study the effects of the tremendous release of petroleum into the marine environment. At the same time, behind-the-scenes developments continue their own transition, with damages claims arising from the catastrophe advancing in the courts while states tally their own recovery costs for payment by petroleum giant BP.
As to the overall effects of the huge volume of oil and gas released into the Gulf of Mexico by the ruptured Macondo well, Federal On-Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft explained in a September 28 press briefing (transcript;audio) that the current effort is "to verify with the best of science what is in that water column, what is in the sea floor, down to depths up to and exceeding 5,000 feet integral to this oil spill response." To that end, research is underway in a coordinated effort between government and academic personnel. Scientists working on the study effort include those from the University of California-Santa Barbara, Texas A&M University, the U.S. Geological Survey, East Carolina University, the California Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
Meanwhile, litigation arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues its advance in federal court, with the announcement of the appointment of a special master in the Multi-District Litigation proceedings and a request by the district court that counsel consider the feasibility of conducting "bellwether" or test trials by the spring or summer of 2011. A trial to determine issues of liability and allocation of fault currently is scheduled for October 2011.
For their part, the state governments of Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama are attempting to work out how much they can claim from BP in damages as they continue their own oil spill response efforts. The federal government, too, is expected to recover billions of dollars from BP as penalties, some levied for violations of the Clean Water Act, for instance. That prospect has led to discussions about how the penalties would best be applied.
On a separate front, a presidential oil spill commission conducted hearings this week in Washington to consider the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, focusing on the cause of the disaster, the scope of oil and gas releases before the Macondo well was killed, and how the government and industry might better respond to such catastrophes in the future.
For additional information on all of these post-Deepwater Horizon efforts among private litigants, state and federal agencies and officials, academic institutions and scientists, and oil and gas industry representatives, please visit Arnold & Itkin LLP's coverage at GulfCoastMaritime.com.
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Texas maritime attorneys at the Houston law firm Arnold & Itkin LLP were pleased to learn of BP’s recent announcement that it is waiving a $75 million cap on liability for some claims resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
