15 Years After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Lawsuits Stall and Restoration Is Incomplete (Connecting the Dots: Deepwater Horizon, BP, EPA, NOAA, The Natural Resources Defense Council, The Commercial Club of Chicago, Merrick Garland’s boss & Soros Funding, All Networking)
Newsmax.com
Sunday,
20 April 2025 07:14 AM EDT
Fifteen
years after the Deepwater Horizon oil
rig exploded off the Gulf Coast,
killing 11 and sending 134 million gallons (507.2 million liters) of crude
gushing into the ocean, the effects of the nation's worst offshore oil spill
are still being felt.
Oil
company BP
paid billions of dollars in damages, propelling ambitious coastal restoration
projects across five states. Yet cleanup workers and local residents who
suffered health impacts they attribute to the oil spill have struggled to have
their cases heard in court and few have received significant compensation.
Conservation
groups say the spill catalyzed innovative restoration work across the Gulf
Coast, but are alarmed at the recent halt of a flagship land-creation project
in Louisiana. As the Trump administration expands offshore oil and gas, they
are concerned the best opportunities for rebuilding the Gulf Coast are slipping
away.
In the
coastal community of Lafitte in southeast Louisiana, Tammy Gremillion is
celebrating Easter Sunday, the anniversary of the April 20 spill, without her
daughter. She remembers warning Jennifer against joining a cleanup crew tasked
with containing the spill for BP.
"But
I couldn’t stop her — they were offering these kids lots of money,” Gremillion
said. “They didn’t know the dangers. They didn’t do what they should have to
protect these young people.”
Jennifer
worked knee-deep in oil for months, returning home reeking of fumes, covered in
black splotches and breaking out in rashes and suffering headaches. She also
was exposed to Corexit, an EPA-approved chemical applied on and below the water to
disperse oil, which has been linked to health problems.
In
2020, Jennifer died of leukemia, a blood cancer that can be caused by exposure
to oil.
Gremillion,
who broke down in tears as she recounted her daughter's death, is “1,000%
confident” that exposure to toxins during the cleanup caused the cancer.
She
filed a lawsuit against BP in 2022, although the allegations have been
difficult to establish in court. Gremillion's suit is one of a small number of
cases still pending.
An
investigation by The Associated Press previously found all but a handful of
roughly 4,800 lawsuits seeking compensation for health problems linked to the
oil spill have been dismissed and only one has been settled.
In a
2012 settlement, BP paid ill workers and coastal residents $67 million, but
this amounted to no more than $1,300 each for nearly 80% of those seeking
compensation.
Attorneys
from the Downs Law Group, representing Gremillion and around 100 others in
cases against BP, say the company leveraged procedural technicalities to block
victims from getting their day in court.
BP
declined to comment on pending litigation. In court filings, BP denied
allegations that oil exposure caused health problems and attacked the
credibility of medical experts brought by plaintiffs.
The
environmental impact was devastating, recalled PJ Hahn, who served on the
frontlines as a southeast Louisiana coastal management official. He watched the
oil eat away at barrier islands and marsh around his community in Plaquemines
Parish until “it would just crumble like a cookie in hot coffee, just break
apart.”
Oyster
beds suffocated, reefs were blanketed in chemicals and the fishing industry
tanked. Pelicans diving for dead fish emerged from the contaminated waters
smeared in a black sheen. Tens of thousands of seabirds and sea turtles were
killed, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
Since
then, “significant progress” has been made restoring Gulf habitats and
ecosystems, according to The Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council,
a group of state and federal agencies tasked with managing restoration funded
by penalties levied against BP.
The
council says more than 300 restoration projects worth $5.38 billion have been
approved in the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf
of America. The projects include acquiring wetlands in Mississippi to protect
nesting areas for birds, rebuilding reefs along Pensacola Bay in Florida and
restoring around 4 square miles (11 square kilometers) of marsh in Lake Borgne
near New Orleans.
While a
tragedy, the spill "galvanized a movement — one that continues to push for
a healthier, more resilient coast,” said Simone Maloz, campaign director for
Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a conservation coalition.
The
influx of billions of dollars in penalties paid by BP "allowed us to think
bigger, act faster and rely on science to guide large-scale solutions,” she
added.
Yet
what many conservationists see as the flagship of the restoration projects
funded by the Deepwater Horizon disaster payout — an approximately $3 billion
effort to divert sediment from the Mississippi River to rebuild 21 square miles
(54 square kilometers) of land in southeast Louisiana — has stalled over
concerns of its impact on the livelihoods of local communities and dolphin
populations.
Louisiana
Gov. Jeff Landry has said the project would “break our culture" by harming
local oyster and shrimp fisheries due to the influx of freshwater. Earlier this
month, his administration paused the project for 90 days, citing its high
costs, and its future remains uncertain.
The
Trump administration is seeking to sell more offshore oil and gas leases, which
the industry trade group American Petroleum Institute called “a big step
forward for American energy dominance.”
BP
announced an oil discovery in the Gulf last week and plans more than 40 new
wells in the next three years. The company told the AP it has improved safety
standards and oversight.
“We
remain keenly aware that we must always put safety first,” BP said in an
emailed statement. “We have made many changes so that such an event should
never happen again."
Still,
Joseph Gordon, climate and energy director for the nonprofit Oceana, warned
Deepwater Horizon's legacy should be “an alarm bell” against the expansion of
offshore drilling.
Connecting
the Dots:
Deepwater Horizon is the operator for BP p.l.c.
Jamie S. Gorelick was
an attorney for BP p.l.c., a trustee at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), Merrick Garland’s boss
and is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank).
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a
funder for the Exxon Mobil Corp, and TNK-BP.
Lamar McKay is
a director at TNK-BP, the division CEO for BP p.l.c.
and was the chairman & president for BP America Inc.
BP p.l.c. is
a subsidiary of BP America Inc.
Deepwater Horizon is the operator for BP p.l.c.
Rosneft is
a state-owned oil company for Russia, and acquired TNK-BP.
James F.
Collins was a U.S. ambassador for Russia and is a senior
associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank).
Jamie S. Gorelick was
a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank), was an attorney for BP p.l.c., Merrick Garland’s boss
and is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was
a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations, an advisory board member for the Earth
Institute (think tank), a member of the Bretton Woods Committee,
and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Urban
Institute (think tank).
William
D. Ruckelshaus is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think
tank) and was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
William A.
Nitze was an assistant administrator for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank) and is a trustee at
the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
David H. Koch is
a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and the EVP for Koch
Industries.
Alex A.
Beehler was the environmental and regulatory affairs director
for Koch Industries and a special assistant for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Merrick Garland’s
boss was Jamie
Gorelick, the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) for the Joe Biden Administration, a member
of Phi Beta Kappa.
John C. Whitehead is
a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an honorary trustee at
the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Rebecca M. Blank was
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is
the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce for
the Barack Obama administration.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a
division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Penny S. Pritzker was
the secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Barack
Obama administration and is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
William M. Daley is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, was the chief of staff
for the Barack Obama administration and a secretary at the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a
division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Mellody L. Hobson is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a trustee at
the Sundance Institute.
Cindy
Harrell-Horn is a trustee at the Sundance Institute and a
director at the Climate Reality Project.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance
Institute and the Climate Reality Project.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Albert A. Gore Jr.
is the chairman for the Climate Reality Project and his chief of
staff was Ronald A. Klain.
Ronald A. Klain
was Albert A. Gore Jr’s chief of staff and is married to Monica
Medina.
Monica Medina is
married to Ronald A. Klain and the principal deputy undersecretary
for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a
division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
William M. Daley
was a secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, the chief of
staff for the Barack Obama administration and is a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Mellody L. Hobson is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a trustee at
the Sundance Institute.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance
Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Robert Redford is
the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, a trustee
at the Natural Resources Defense Council and was a director at
the Apollo Alliance.
Frances G.
Beinecke is the president of the Natural Resources Defense
Council a director at the Apollo Alliance and was a member of
the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Susan Crown was
a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, is Lester
Crown’s daughter and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Douglas A.
Pertz is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and
was a director at the Nalco Holding Co.
Lester Crown is Susan
Crown’s father, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago
and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
David H. Koch is
a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and the EVP for Koch
Industries.
Alex A.
Beehler was the environmental and regulatory affairs director
for Koch Industries and a special assistant for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Henry
A. Kissinger was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute
(think tank) and a member of the Bohemian Club.
Belizean_Grove is
the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.
Henrietta
Holsman Fore is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank),
a member of the Belizean Grove and a director at the Exxon
Mobil Corp.
Daniel
S. Sanders was a VP at the Exxon Mobil Corp., the
president of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company, a director at
the Nalco Holding Co. and is a director at Ecolab, Inc.
William
W. George is a director at the Exxon Mobil Corp. and a
trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a
funder for the Exxon Mobil Corp, and TNK-BP.
Jamie S. Gorelick was
a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank), an attorney for BP p.l.c., Merrick Garland’s boss
and is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations, an advisory board member for the Earth
Institute (think tank), a member of the Bretton Woods Committee,
and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Urban
Institute (think tank).
William
D. Ruckelshaus is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think
tank) and was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
William A.
Nitze was an assistant administrator for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank) and is a trustee at
the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank) and the Human
Rights First.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society and William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human
Rights First.
William D. Zabel
was a trustee at the Foundation to Promote Open Society, George
Soros’s divorce lawyer and is the chair for Human Rights First.
Kenneth R.
Feinberg is a director at Human Rights First and the
victim compensation administrator for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Thad W. Allen is
oversaw emergency response for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
and the EVP for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Robert S. Osborne is
the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton and a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Walter
E. Massey is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and was a director
at BP p.l.c.
BP p.l.c. was
the operator of oil rig for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
James S.
Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Lester Crown is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Susan Crown’s daughter
and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
William A. Nitze is
a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and was an assistant
administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Penny S. Pritzker was a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the secretary at
the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Barack
Obama administration and Craig M. Robinson’s basketball
coach for the children's team.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a
division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Craig M. Robinson is Michelle
Obama’s brother, Penny S. Pritzker was his basketball
coach for the children's team and was the men's basketball team coach at Oregon
State University.
Jane Lubchenco was
a professor at Oregon State University, a founding board member
for Climate Central, an administrator for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the Barack
Obama administration and a trustee at the Environmental Defense
Fund.
Environmental
Defense Fund is a member of the U.S. Climate Action
Partnership.
Natural
Resources Defense Council is a member of the U.S. Climate
Action Partnership.
James Gustave
Speth is an honorary trustee at the Natural Resources Defense
Council and a director at the Climate Reality Project.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural
Resources Defense Council, the
Climate Reality Project and the Sundance Institute.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Robert Redford is
the founder & president for the Sundance
Institute, a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council
and was a director at the Apollo Alliance.
Frances G.
Beinecke is the president of the Natural Resources Defense
Council a director at the Apollo Alliance and was a member of
the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Deepwater Horizon is the operator for BP p.l.c.
BP p.l.c. is
a subsidiary of BP America Inc.
Paul M.
Anderson is a director at BP p.l.c. and a director
at BAE Systems Inc.
BAE
Systems plc is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc.
Jamie S.
Gorelick was an attorney for BP p.l.c., a trustee at
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a
commissioner for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the
United States Merrick Garland’s boss and is a trustee at the Urban
Institute (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations, an advisory board member for the Earth
Institute (think tank), a member of the Bretton Woods Committee,
and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Urban Institute
(think tank) and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Lee H.
Hamilton is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), a director at BAE Systems Inc. was the vice chair
for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
and a co-chair for the Iraq Study Group,
Vernon
E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle and was a
member of the Iraq Study Group.
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Walter E. Massey is
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and was a director
at BP p.l.c.
Valerie B. Jarrett is
Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago and was the senior adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of
Chicago and a counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was
an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and is a director
at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Thomas A.
Cole is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago and was a director at the Chicago
Council on Global Affairs.
Walter E.
Massey is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and
was a director at BP p.l.c.
Douglas A.
Pertz is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a
director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and was a
director at the Nalco Holding Co.
John H. Bryan is
an honorary life director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
and was a director at BP p.l.c.
Rodney F.
Chase was the deputy CEO for BP p.l.c., and a director at
the Nalco Holding Co.
BP p.l.c. was
the operator of oil rig for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Deepwater
Horizon was the oil rig that exploded, killing 11 & triggering oil
spill in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
National
Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill investigated
the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Kenneth
R. Feinberg is the victim compensation administrator for the 2010
Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a director at Human Rights First, was
the administrator of victim payments for the 2012 Aurora (CO) theater
shootings, and a special master for the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001.
William D. Zabel
is the chair for Human Rights First, was a trustee at the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, George Soros’s divorce lawyer.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human
Rights First and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer and is
the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human
Rights First and the Atlantic Council of the United States (think
tank).
William A.
Nitze was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank), an assistant administrator for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is a trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Penny S. Pritzker was a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the secretary at
the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Barack
Obama administration and Craig M. Robinson’s basketball
coach for the children's team.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a
division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Resources:
Past Research
VIRGIL:
The Environmental Protection Agency — Next Stop on a Guided Tour of the Deep
State’s Covert Resistance to Trump (Past Research
on the EPA)
Saturday,
March 11, 2017
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/03/virgil-environmental-protection-agency.html
Obama's
New EPA Chief: Climate Change 'Most Significant Public Health Threat Of Our
Time' (Past Research on the EPA)
Tuesday,
November 12, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/obamas-new-epa-chief-climate-change.html
“Covering
Up The [Gulf] Oil Spill With Corexit Was a Deadly Action … What Happened In the
Gulf Was a Political Act, an Act of Cowardice and Greed” (Past Research on BP)
Tuesday,
November 12, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/covering-up-gulf-oil-spill-with-corexit.html
BP
back in business with feds (Video) (Past Research
on BP)
Saturday,
March 15, 2014
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/03/bp-back-in-business-with-feds-video.html
Trump
Organization Sues Capital One Over Closed Accounts (Connecting the Dots:
Capitol One, Alec Baldwin, People for the American Way, MSNBC, CNBC, Committee
for Economic Development, Obamacare, Commercial Club of Chicago, Booz Allen
Hamilton, NSA, FBI, CIA & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on Booz Allen Hamilton)
Saturday,
March 8, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/03/trump-organization-sues-capital-one.html
Merrick
Garland (Connecting the Dots: Merrick Garland, Russia, Soros, Think Tanks,
Jamie Gorelick, FBI, CIA & Phi Beta Kappa All Networking) (Past Research on Jamie Gorelick & Merrick Garland)
Tuesday,
August 16, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/08/merrick-garland-connecting-dots-merrick.html
Trump
Pulls US Out of Key Global Climate Assessment, Sources Say (Connecting the
Dots: NOAA, The Climate Reality Project, The U.S. Department of Commerce &
Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on
NOAA)
Thursday,
February 20, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/02/trump-pulls-us-out-of-key-global.html
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Past
Research on NOAA)
Tuesday,
July 15, 2014
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/07/national-oceanic-and-atmospheric.html
The
Valerie Jarrett Power Matrix - Background research (Past
Research on Valerie Jarrett)
Friday,
December 27, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-valerie-jarrett-power-matrix.html
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