Comments | ontd_political: BP settles criminal charges for $4 billion in spill; supervisors indicted on manslaughter

baked_goldfish in ontd_political

BP settles criminal charges for $4 billion in spill; supervisors indicted on manslaughter

Nov 15, 2012 17:33

BP has agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal counts, including manslaughter, and will pay $4 billion over five years in a settlement with the Justice Department over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company and Justice Department announced Thursday ( Read more... )

bp, crime, oil, environment

Comments 6

natyanayaki November 16 2012, 02:25:54 UTC

I know that this should give me closure, but I see the dead bodies of baby dolphins, birds covered in oil, untold numbers of fish killed...and ugh...I can't help but think it's simply not enough.

caterfree10 November 16 2012, 03:28:34 UTC

I remember seeing this on the local news earlier today. There was a part where it showed the impact on the environment there and there was *still* oil on the ground in a marsh and the soil erosion was more than 20 feet since the oil spill - twice the rate than it was before, iirc. It's really sad, though I don't know how or even if this will help restore those lands.

At the very least though, I'm glad that BP is having to pay up for their mess.

romp November 16 2012, 03:29:53 UTC

Thanks for the update. I had no hope when it happened of any fines and I really like the idea of holding individuals responsible, the higher the better. Sounds like this is going to drag out for decades though. I suppose that's BP's plan so they can make more money while they delay.

wathsalive November 16 2012, 04:41:33 UTC

$4 billion is more money than I can imagine but wikipedia says BP made 386 billion in 2011 and a net income of 25 billion. I can see why they agreed to settle for 4 billion.

halfshellvenus November 16 2012, 16:58:20 UTC

Finally, some closure for the families of the people who were killed by "business decisions."

I know the long-term environment effects still haven't been adequately dealt with, and the people and animals that live in that area will suffer the effects for a very long time to come. But that disaster was avoidable, and pursuing money over safety cost workers' lives as well as the environmental disaster.

Employers should not be allowed to endanger their employees this way. The employee really can't refuse without losing his/her job.

365reasonswhy November 17 2012, 00:38:45 UTC

MTE. I'm glad the people responsible for the bad decision making that led to those men losing their lives are going to be held accountable for it.