Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Sept. 20, 2013

09.20.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

Judge accepts Halliburton’s $200,000 plea agreement for deleting data after the BP oil spill; former employee faces individual charge
By Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Sept. 19, 2013.
“U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo on Thursday accepted a plea agreement requiring Halliburton Energy Services Inc. to pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years probation in exchange for pleading guilty to computer fraud after deleting data related to the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. At the same time, a former Halliburton employee was charged with destruction of evidence for ordering the discarding of the files…” (read more).

SE Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East meets
By Kevin McGill, Associated Press. Sept. 19, 2013.
“CHALMETTE, La. – Author John Barry gave a brief farewell speech Thursday to the flood board he has served on since 2007, anticipating his ouster by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration because of a lawsuit the board has filed against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies over the erosion of wetlands…” (read more).

BP sues Louisiana officials after being ordered to remove oil spill boom anchors from state waters
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Sept. 19, 2013.
“BP sued the state of Louisiana Thursday to block an order that the company remove from state waters thousands of metal anchors that were used to hold down oil spill booms following the Deepwater Horizon disaster…” (read more).

Admin costs for BP spill settlement soar above $600m
By Ed Crooks, Financial Times (London). Sept. 19, 2013.
“The administrative costs of BP’s settlement for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster have reached more than $600m, meaning that the programme has paid more than a dollar in administration for every six it distributed in compensation…” (read more).

Former Halliburton Manager Faces Criminal Charge in Deepwater Horizon Evidence-Destruction Case
By Tes Stynes, The Wall Street Journal (New York). Sept. 19, 2013.
“Halliburton Co.’s former director of cementing technology is facing a criminal charge related to the destruction of evidence tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion…” (read more).

Ex-Halliburton manager charged in Gulf spill probe
By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press. Sept. 19, 2013.
“NEW ORLEANS — A former Halliburton employee was charged today with destroying evidence after BP’s 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…” (read more).

Letters: Speaking volumes about BP
Opinion by Mike Badzioch, Houston Chronicle. Sept. 19, 2013.
“In her essay, “Making BP pay and pay and pay” (Page B11, Tuesday), Carol Sims laments the possibility of British Petroleum being required to pay in settlements for damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill more than it had expected…” (read more).

Corps of Engineers will armor more levees with fabric mat, grass combo
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Sept. 19, 2013.
“The Army Corps of Engineers has decided to use a combination of fabric mats and grass to armor most earthen hurricane levees on both sides of the river, a senior corps official confirmed Thursday, but exactly which levees will get this armoring has yet to be decided…” (read more).

The Giant Big Oil Lawsuit That Bobby Jindal Wants to Make Disappear
By Tim Murphy, Mother Jones. Sept. 19, 2013.
“In late July, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority–East, an independent board created by the state legislature in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to shore up the state’s levee system, filed a lawsuit against the oil companies. All of them…” (read more).

The Buddy system
Guest column by Jeff Landry, Houma Courier. Sept. 19, 2013.
“If you read the Louisiana Constitution, it is evident to most that our elected officials including the Legislature of our state and the governor are entrusted with setting public policy. They are to work with the attorney general on enforcement. Unfortunately, Buddy Caldwell, the current attorney general, decided to turn public policy decisions over to a local levee board so a group of lawyers looking to cash in at the expense of middle class jobs can have access to contracts…” (read more).

Don Briggs: Gulf storms keep oil industry on alert’
Column by Don Briggs, The Advertiser (Lafayette, La.). Sept. 19, 2013.
“Each year, Mother Nature sends a fury of storms into the Gulf of Mexico. June 1 through Nov. 30 is the technical span of hurricane season. For strong winds to be labeled an actual hurricane, 74 mph sustained winds must be present…” (read more).

BP cancels costly Gulf of Mexico oil project contracts
By Kristen Hays and Andrew Callus, Reuters. Sept. 19, 2013.
“BP Plc has cancelled contracts to build a costly, bespoke extension to its Mad Dog oil project in the Gulf of Mexico that has been under review since April due to cost inflation and uncertain future oil prices…” (read more).