Environmentalist Sues for Violations in the Gulf
A man from North Naples, Florida, is suing BP alleging it has violated federal environmental laws and permits in allowing crude oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater oil rig.
According to www.naplesnews.com, Brian Doyle, 50, says the companies involved with the failed oil rig violated the federal Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Oil Pollution Act.
Doyle is asking a federal judge to require BP, Transocean Deepwater Inc., Halliburton Energy Services, and the Department of the Interior to clean up the gooey mess as quickly as possible and cap the well to prevent further contamination. Doyle filed his oil spill lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers.
Ever since the April 20th explosion of the BP oil rig that killed 11 workers, dolphins have washed ashore and dead sea turtles and pelicans have been recovered, coated in oil. Sharks and stingrays are staying closer to the shores, and porpoises are avoiding the Intracoastal Waterway in a departure from their normal behavior.
Crude oil in the Gulf is collecting in areas of sargassum, which is a type of seaweed where young turtles live. To get rid of the oil, workers are burning the oil-soaked sargassum when it is pulled into booms. So far more than 240,000 barrels of oil have been burned at sea, including whatever creatures are caught in between the two boats.
Dead organisms that cover the surface near the blowout include a dead sperm whale. Under the surface is normally a very rich area for algal growth, an important base for the food chain, which is why the area was so rich in shrimp and fish.
Scientists say expect a widening dead zone as oxygen is used by bacteria to breakdown the oil. Huge underground clouds of oil and methane gas suffocate organisms and microbes that might naturally break down the oil. Add to that, questions about dispersants and their impact on the health of living organisms, which at this point amounts to a giant mystery.
The Exxon Valdez spill killed at least 35,000 sea birds. Determining the number of animals that have been killed is important in the BP disaster because under federal law, BP is liable for up to $50,000 per dead animal that is on the endangered species list, such as a Kemp’s Ridley turtle.
Some people criticize this is a frivolous lawsuit, but turtles don’t have lobbyists to make sure they are compensated.
Doyle is not an attorney, but a concerned citizen who is studying environmental management and policy. His attorney, Patricia Finn, of Piermont, New York, hopes the lawsuit will encourage a swifter response that will mitigate the environmental damage.
Since the April 20th explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, 18 to 150 million gallons of crude oil have spilled into the Gulf, making it the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history.
