Latest news: March 1, 2012

Greens, pols join in push for RESTORE Act
By Bob Marshall, Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Feb. 29, 2012.
“Coastal advocates this week began a new push on Capitol Hill for passage of the RESTORE Act, concerned reports of a imminent settlement between BP and spill plaintiffs could result in the estimated $20 billion in fines drifting away from Gulf restoration and into the federal treasury – a result the act is designed to prevent…” (Read more)

Gulf oil spill case court docket is busy as settlement talks continue
By Mark Schleifstein, Times-Picayune. March 01, 2012.
“As settlement negotiations in the Gulf oil spill lawsuit continue between BP and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, representing private parties who have sued the company for damages, Judge Carl Barbier and magistrates overseeing the larger lawsuit that includes the federal and Gulf Coast state governments continue to churn out rulings that could affect the ultimate outcome…” (Read more)

Report: Senate bill to send oil spill fines back to Gulf ‘very close’ to 60 votes
By Virginia Chamlee, The Florida Independent. Feb. 29, 2012.
“E & E Daily is reporting that backers of a bill that would send billions of dollars in Deepwater Horizon spill penalties to the Gulf Coast states affected by the spill nearly have the support they need to get a Senate vote this week…” (Read more)

Judge postpones Atchafalaya Basin ruling
By Nicholas Persac, The Advertiser (Lafayette, La.). Feb. 29, 2012.
“Local crawfish farmers and environmental activists will have to wait another week before knowing if a legal battle against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will take a turn for the better…” (Read more)

Is there life after an oil spill?
Gaia Vince, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Feb. 27, 2012
“It was the worst accidental oil spill in history, spewing some 750 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and provoking fears of an environmental Armageddon. With fishermen reportedly suicidal, President Barack Obama called it “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” and said that the country would be “fighting the spill” for years to come…” (Read more)