News from Politico.com's Morning Energy Report on the 2nd anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Disaster:
- Two years after the Macondo well's blowout and the deaths of 11 workers,
the oil and gas company is pouring money into safety upgrades, but
environmentalists and safety experts have their doubts. Spill commission
co-chairman (and former EPA chief) Bill Reilly says the risk of another similar
spill is lessened now. "In the event of another catastrophe - which a lot
of these moves will make very unlikely - the world, the industry and the
government all will be better prepared than they were two years ago,"
Reilly said. The San Antonio Express-News: http://bit.ly/HWNZpd
- An independent audit for the Justice Department found that the Gulf Coast
Claims Facility didn't give enough money to about 7,300 people and businesses,
so checks to the tune of $64 million are now in the mail. The audit made sure
to praise the GCCF for doling out $6.2 billion over one and a half years
"in an extremely time-sensitive, challenging and dynamic environment."
The audit: http://1.usa.gov/HWT4Mc
- The Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency, says it should
release its final report on the incident early next year and could release
safety recommendations as early as August. Fuel Fix: http://bit.ly/HQAjX7
- Three green groups are suing the EPA and the Coast Guard over their use of
dispersants to break up oil spills, arguing the agencies don't know how the
chemicals will affect endangered species. AP: http://bit.ly/HWWsZG
- Scientists are starting to think sea life is still suffering from the oil,
citing fish with open sores, parasitic infections and unusual black streaks.
AP: http://bit.ly/JihDQo
- Two years after the disaster, nearly a third of Americans say they won't
eat Gulf of Mexico seafood. The Times-Picayune: http://bit.ly/HXy0pT
- It's hard to pin criminal liability on any one person in situations like
the spill, but the penalties BP has paid don't appear to have accomplished
anything, ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten writes in The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/JkCtP5
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