Watchdog group eyes BP oil-spill investigation (Invest. Sought Of Bush Handling Of Alaska Oil-Spill)

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Tuesday, 11.11.08 Recommend (0)share email print comment reprint
ENVIRONMENT
Watchdog group eyes BP oil-spill investigation
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility are suspicious about the federal investigations and fines attributed to a 2006 BP oil spill in Alaska.
BY RENEE SCHOOF
[e-mail]

WASHINGTON -- An environmental watchdog group asked the Department of Justice's inspector general on Monday to investigate whether the department had prematurely halted a criminal prosecution of BP for a 2006 oil spill in Alaska.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed the complaint on behalf of Scott West, who as the special agent in charge for the Environmental Protection Agency participated in the federal and state investigation of the spill.

West, who retired last week after 19 years as an EPA criminal investigator to take a job with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said he'd argued for time last year because he and his team were looking for evidence to prove felonies. The Justice Department, however, said the evidence had been fully investigated and charged BP with a misdemeanor.

BP, one of the world's largest energy companies, agreed in October 2007 to plead guilty to the federal misdemeanor and pay $20 million in criminal penalties for two Prudhoe Bay spills. One was the largest spill on the North Slope; about 201,000 gallons of oil leaked onto the tundra and a frozen pond.

When the plea was announced last year, federal and state authorities said that the spills had occurred because BP hadn't spent the money necessary to maintain its pipes.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/765690.html

[Hotler]

1. Kicking!

[Arctic Dave]

2. Here is a little trivia. Who help clean in clean up operations

the first night of the largest spill on the North Slope. Answer: Me.

Myself and two other guys vacumed oil for twelve hours in -35 degrees and howling wind. We had to keep changing out hose becuase it kept forming ice plugs in it until we decided to run the hose through heater trunk. About half way through our shift we realized we were on a raft of ice floating on oil.