Got this from my Friend Rusty Nelson, who works for fishermen in Florida watching and reacting to all the issues from the Federal and State regulations, policy and law…
Bill Nelson
U.S. Senator - Florida
May 5, 2010
Dear Russell,
During a meeting I just had with the CEO of BP I put a number of questions to Tony Hayward directly and bluntly:
Any idea when you’re really going to be able to cap this well?
Can you guarantee the Gulf of Mexico states that this will be capped by the start of hurricane season June 1?
What reassurances can you give us this kind of thing won’t happen at another rig tomorrow?
Why shouldn’t we stop new deepwater drilling at least until you’ve demonstrated a reliable backup system for capping the wells?
Do you feel BP is liable for all the economic damages – or, can we expect legal battles between BP, Transocean and the manufacturers of the blowout prevention device?
While Mr. Hayward was forthright – I was not satisfied with all the answers he gave.
He conceded that damages from this spill will exceed the $75 million cap in current law. And he left open the strong possibility there will be legal disputes over who is responsible.
Is it BP? Transocean? The manufacturer of the blowout prevention device? Halliburton?
This is why I have filed legislation to make sure the oil company and others aren’t off the hook on economic damages resulting from this spill. My bill would raise a responsible party’s liability cap for economic damages (such as lost business revenues from fishing and tourism, natural resources damages or lost local tax revenues) from $75 million to $10 billion.
Since I filed this bill, even the White House has said we need to raise the cap.
Meantime, we’re still facing the immediate priority of stopping this underwater volcano. The oil spill off the coast of Louisiana continues to grow unabated, threatening the Gulf Coast. Worst case scenario has the oil getting caught in the “loop” curr