Gulf Coast upset over OK to wrap up BP cleanup

[Rhiannon12866]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Word that the government is letting BP end its cleanup of the Gulf Coast left many residents seething and fearful over who would monitor or respond to any lingering effects of the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Estimates that 90 percent of the region's shores have been cleaned of oil from last year's spill belie the sentiments of many locals who are likely to think first of BP when they spot tar balls or mats of weathered oil in the sand. Such waste has washed ashore for years from a variety of sources, but the spill's traumatic aftermath has linked it with BP in the minds of many.

"Everything is just not how it used to be. When you pull a fish up, it doesn't look like it is supposed to look, like they did before," said Ryan Johnson, a fisherman in Pensacola Beach, Fla.

The agreement approved last week by the U.S. Coast Guard ends BP's cleanup responsibility for all but a small fraction of the coast, and marks a shift to restoration efforts that will likely include planting new vegetation and adding new sand to beaches. Under the plan, BP PLC won't be required to clean up oil that washes ashore in the future unless officials can prove it came from the blown-out well that caused the 2010 catastrophe - a link that the company concedes will be harder to establish as time passes and the oil degrades. Still, a top company official said BP is ready to respond to any oil that's deemed its responsibility.

http://www.adn.com/2011/11/09/2161823/coast-guard-oks-winding-down-bp.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is a disgusting conclusion to the whole sorry mess.

BP has evaded and connived at every turn, trying with considerable success to not do what they had originally promised.

The Gulf may never recover.

And now, to add insult to injury, they are again being allowed to drill there.

I am incensed.

:mad:

[Fumesucker]

2. This result was predicted right from the beginning here on DU..

Disgusting but about as unsurprising as the Sun rising in the East.

There are different rules for the 1% and the 99%.

[lob1]

3. I agree with you, and I'm also incensed. Our government

has protected BP on every level, from beginning to end. I blame Obama for that.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. I still don't know what caused him to change his mind about offshore drilling.

I thought he opposed it... :(

[LuvNewcastle]

5. I think the Gulf is fucked up beyond repair.

A large chunk of BP should be sold and ceded to our government so that it can deal with the environmental fallout from this disaster as well as the human toll. Much of our economy down here is directly related to fishing, tourism, and other industries that depend on a healthy Gulf. People in these industries need to be trained to do other things and new industries should be encouraged to locate here. An action such as this against BP would be a stern warning to those companies still drilling in the Gulf.

[lib2DaBone]

6. All that Corexit and oil is laying like mush on the bottom of the Gulf...

One hurricane will stir it up and distribute poison chemicals from Texas to Maine.

[me b zola]

12. Yes, and we will then not see media coverage of that too

This is disgusting beyond words.

[annabanana]

7. but. . but . . but . . Didn't BP pay for those cute "come visit the gulf"

advertisements that I've been seeing? SURELY that means their job is done.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Told ya so.

They have also only paid out about 1/4 of the 20 billion compensation fund, while the long term health and economic effects of their disaster continue to haunt people living on the Gulf, esp in Miss and Louisiana.

The plan was always to let time erase the event from the memories of most people, to delay, to drag out the compensation plan.After the first few weeks, almost all news about the Gulf disappeared, except in very local papers. Even the ( Republican controlled) Mobile paper had little to say.

I am one of those who said it would be business as usual, given enough time.
"Make it right", my ass.
These days my only consolation is knowing that even the richest SOBs cannot live forever on the planet they have destroyed.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Why isn't this making headlines, like the offer to make the payoffs did?

You're right, how soon people forget... Except for those who are still suffering. ;(

[Hydra]

9. The Obama Administration will be remembered for many failures

But this one may well be the biggest, longest lasting and deadly of their legacies.

Congratulations to all the people who thought the free market would save everyone. When in doubt, it does its best to kill all of us.

[leftstreet]

10. K&R

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Well, I brought it up... Because this is a huge tragedy that we cannot forget.

We will still be experiencing the effects of this for decades. :(

[BlueIris]

15. Gross. Shame on BP. nt