Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Sept. 30, 2013

Second phase of BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial begins
By Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times. Sept. 29, 2013.
“The second phase of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial begins Monday in New Orleans, restarting a legal juggernaut that could saddle the energy giant with the largest environmental penalty in U.S. history…” (read more)

In BP Trial, The Amount Of Oil Lost Is At Issue
By Clifford Krauss, The New York Times. Sept. 29, 2013.
“With billions of dollars in penalties at stake, the civil trial of the British oil company BP begins its second phase on Monday, which will set the amount of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 workers and soiled hundreds of miles of beaches…” (read more)

BP fights to shrink gulf spill estimate to cap potential verdict
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Allen Johnson, Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Sept. 29, 2013.
“BP, seeking to reduce potential water pollution fines of as much as $18 billion, will try to convince a judge that less oil spilled in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster than the U.S. claims and that it capped the deep-sea gusher as quickly as possible…” (read more)

BP trial to resume with testimony about company’s 86-day struggle to cap blown-out Gulf well
By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press. Sept. 29 2013.
“Top kill. Junk shot. Cofferdam. Top hat. Capping stack. Those terms — obscure industry jargon before BP’s massive 2010 oil spill — became familiar buzzwords as the company scrambled to find a way to plug its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico…” (read more)

BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as £11bn in fines loom
By Suzanna Goldenberg, The Guardian. Sept. 29, 2013.
“BP’s lawyers will fight attempts to fine the oil group up to $18bn (£11bn) over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, when a new trial opens in New Orleans on Monday…” (read more)

Second phase of BP trial resumes in New Orleans
By Associated Press. Sept. 29, 2013.
“The methods that BP employed during its 86-day struggle in 2010 to find a way to plug its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico will be the focus of a trial resuming Monday in the high-stakes litigation spawned by the worst offshore oil spill ever in the U.S.” (read more)

Next in Gulf-Spill Trial: BP’s Effort to Stop the Leak
By Tom Fowler, The Wall Street Journal. Sept. 29, 2013.
“BP will try to convince a federal judge that it made adequate efforts to stop oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico when the latest phase of a civil trial on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster begins Monday in Federal District Court in New Orleans…” (read more)

BP oil spill trial to begin second phase
Hosted by Scott Simon, NPR. Sept. 29, 2013.
“Officials from BP, formerly British Petroleum, will be back in a New Orleans courtroom next week. It’s part of a complex federal case that will ultimately determine responsibility in damages for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. And that’s the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…” (read more)

BP fights to keep fines down in new Gulf of Mexico oil spill trial phase
By Reuters. Sept. 27, 2013.
“BP will battle to hold down fines that could hit $18 billion in a new phase of the Gulf of Mexico trial that will rule on how much oil it spilled in 2010 and judge its efforts to plug its well…” (read more)

Can Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Make the Big Oil Lawsuit Go Away?
Opinion by Sandy Rosenthal, Huffington Post. Sept. 28, 2013.
“Last week, Garret Graves, speaking for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, told the nominating committee for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East that the Governor would refuse to approve the reappointment of John Barry and Tim Doody should the committee recommend the two currently serving commissioners…” (read more)

Motion to toss BP supervisors’ manslaughter charges
By Associated Press. Sept. 27, 2013.
“Lawyers for two BP rig supervisors charged with manslaughter in the Deepwater Horizon disaster say the indictment should be dismissed because prosecutors accuse the men of violating standards that didn’t exist when the explosion killed 11 workers…” (read more)

Billions in penalties at stake for BP in estimates of oil discharged into Gulf
By David Hammer, WWL  TV (New Orleans). Sept. 27, 2013.
“It’s sure to be dry and highly technical, but the second phase of the BP oil spill trial that starts Monday could make a $7 billion difference for the British oil giant…” (read more)

Research links health, oil spill
By Xerxes Wilson, Houma Courier (Houma, La.). Sept. 28, 2013.
“Oil spill cleanup workers could be at risk for developing liver and blood disorders, according to new research published in the American Journal of Medicine…” (read more)

Is BP in danger of a dividend cut?
By Nickey Friedman, Daily Finance. Sept. 28, 2013.
“BP continues to face a host of legal problems, despite it being nearly three and a half years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill…” (read more)

How Bad Was the BP Oil Spill? Three Years On, Some Answers
By David Brown, KUT News 90.5 (Austin). Sept. 27, 2013.
“The extent of the environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the BP oil disaster is largely unknown to the public; much of the data remains sealed because of litigation. But now scientists at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are shedding important new light on the subject. And the news is not good…” (read more)