On Apr. 6, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig ruptured, killing 11 workers and countless marine organisms. The oil spread across the 1,100-mile coastline of five states and 1,200 square miles of the ocean floor, according to an article in The Telegraph. The leak was finally stopped on July, 15 2010, 87 days after the initial rupture, with approximately 134 million gallons of oil having already seeped into the sea. On Oct. 5, 2015, the U.S. justice department finalized a $20.8 billion settlement with BP for the massive spill into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Deepwater Horizon catastrophe is consistently described as the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, and is among the ranks of other historical man-made catastrophes like the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill. From an economic standpoint, devastation was felt by numerous small businesses along the coast, as well as the fishing and tourism industries. Wildlife in the area was at risk after being submerged in or having ingested oil. Many bird and fish species have since re-established relatively normal population levels, but endangered species like bottle-nosed dolphins and sea turtles have not witnessed a similar recovery. Population decline has been correlated with the scope of the spill; scientific evidence confirming this relationship has yet to be published.
However, the recent settlement has not dissuaded BP from exploring new offshore drilling sites. Their newest pursuit is the Great Australian Bight, off of the country’s southern coast. Several environmental organizations have contested BP’s plans for Australia, due to the potential contamination of its unique biodiversity.
In an article by The Guardian, South Australian director of the Wilderness Society, Peter Owen, expressed his concern that if the area suffered a disaster like the Gulf of Mexico, “the damage would be irreversible.”
In their attempts to compensate for the harm done, a July 2, 2015 press release from BP stated the company’s intention to settle $18.7 billion in payments over 18 years. The current and similar agreement, broken down by NPR, outlines “$7.1 billion for natural resources damages claims under the Oil Pollution Act; $5.5 billion penalty for violating the Clean Water Act; $4.9 billion payment to five Gulf of Mexico states; $1 billion previously paid for restoration work; up to $1 billion to local governments.”
During her speech at the justice department news conference, U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch proudly touted this resolution as “the largest settlement with a single entity in American history.” However, some would hardly agree with Lynch that “BP is receiving the punishment it deserves.”
According to Forbes, in a separate criminal suit regarding BP’s liability for the deceased workers, the U.S. justice department expressly stated that the attributed $4 billion would not be tax deductible. However, Forbes also reported that BP spent, to date, $32 billion on clean-up procedures – the subsequent deduction of these efforts costing American taxpayers $10 billion. Of the Oct. 5 settlement, aside from the Clean Water Act penalty, the remaining payments are legally tax deductible. The reimbursement for warranted fines does not resemble a punishment.
In comparison, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill released approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. According to ThinkProgress, the total fines were roughly $1.2 billion, which ExxonMobil has yet to pay. After 25 years, the penalties for environmental crimes are still not reassuring the public that energy exploration and transport are safe or that the companies involved are being held accountable.