States Weigh Big Claims Against BP

States Weigh Big Claims Against BP
Via: WSJ.com

Gulf Coast states are gearing up to follow shrimpers and hotel owners in seeking payouts from BP PLC for lost revenue and other damages stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The demands could far exceed the $305 million BP has already given the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to help pay cleanup costs, promote tourism and begin building sand berms off the coast of Louisiana, state officials say. Lawyers advising the states said they would eventually seek multi-billion dollar payouts, but it was still too early to give a tally.

BP declined to comment on the states' legal strategies. The British oil company agreed nearly two weeks ago to honor claims for damages and lost business revenue from individuals and businesses through a $20 billion, independent compensation fund administered by Kenneth Feinberg, the Washington, D.C.,-based lawyer and arbitration expert.

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The loss of tax revenues alone is going to severely pinch the states. On top of the additional expenditures they are/will face. The economic hit to the states is a double edged sword. Reduced revenues and increased costs. On top of the economic hit the economy dealt, which also produced that equation: reduced revenues and increased expenditures.

Good for them. By rights BP admited to being at fault, the states are loosing in many ways, i say good for the state, get what they can.

reply to post by severdsoul


I kinda-sorta agree, but I would qualify it as "all they are due." And that alone is quite a substantial mountain of money.

It really is heartbreaking on a human level. Many of the folks in this region were ramping up to have a good year, better than last year which was pretty lean and scary for the tourism sector. People were being hired for "the season" and it the collective sigh of relief was palpable.

I'm not really much of a doomer when it comes to the oil, it will hurt and do damage but I don't believe it's the end of the world as we know it. That said, the hurt will last quite some time I fear.

Originally posted by Geeky_Bubbe
reply to post by severdsoul

Agreed that is a huge amount, i'm sure they would end up having to put specifics on what it was being used for in the law suit, not just a random number.

That it is, the toll of this we will not see for many years.
It has changed many lives, some will be able to pull it out and go back to life as normal, some will be changed for generations.

I fully agree its not the end of the world, but it has the potential to change 1/3 the U.S. Depending on how far its spread and how the storms pick it up. The effects to come may not be seen for 20 years or more.
Its not the oil that really concerns me, it is bad, but its what they are spraying. The cortex has 0.16ppm Arsenic in it. Now 10 ppm will kill in 30 min. So 0.16 ppm should be just enough to build up in the system of everyone the storms dump on and in time cause problems later in life.
Right now its just a nasty mess, later it may be a cancer explosion.
Granted it all depends on what happens in the weeks and months to come, but think of all the millions of kids unaware of whats there (0nce the storms pick it up and dump it on the coast). In 10 years, or 20 years what will the effects be on them from all of this?

Kind of spooky when you think about it. look what Agent orange did to our boys in nam. No one had any idea it was dangerous, but millions have died from it, well from cancer and other health problems from it.
I'm not really much of a doomer when it comes to the oil, it will hurt and do damage but I don't believe it's the end of the world as we know it. That said, the hurt will last quite some time I fear.

Well said.

This may sound strange to anyone who hasn't experienced it, but with a severe hurricane or any natural disaster where things are "broken" it is hard to live through [and, to be sure some don't] and the recovery can take some time, but almost to a person life "after" is better than before. Recovery alone is a boom to the local economy.

But, with the oil mess there is not really going to be anything to rebuild, so things won't "be better" on the back side. Like you said, the ramifications are likely going to be long lived and insidious. Maybe, ultimately, in "small ways" but all those "small ways" [not to be confused with "small people'] they *add* *up* to be a Big Deal.

Eh, if that makes sense.