The Justice Department sued nine companies on Wednesday for allegedly violating environmental laws in connection with the Gulf Coast oil spill earlier this year.
The civil lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, seeks damages under the Clean Water Act. In addition, the suit, which does not seek specified damages, also seeks to declare four of the defendants liable under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the spill, including damages to the environment.
The defendants are BP Exploration and Production Inc.; Anadarko Exploration & Production LP and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (known collectively as “Anadarko Defendants”); MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC; Triton Asset Leasing GMBH, Transocean Holdings LLC, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., and Transocean Deepwater Inc. (known collectively as “Transocean Defendants”); and BP’s insurer, QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd’s Syndicate 1036. QBE/Lloyd’s can only be held liable for the amount of insurance policy coverage under the Oil Pollution Act.
Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference Wednesday that the DOJ plans to hold the companies “fully accountable” for any violations of the environmental laws.
“Even though the spill has been contained – even though it is no longer the focus of round-the-clock news coverage that we saw and the subject of front-page headlines – the Department’s focus on investigating this disaster, and preventing future devastation, has not wavered,” Holder said. “While today’s civil action marks a critical step forward, it is not a final step.”
Holder said the DOJ continues to investigate potential criminal infractions, in addition to possible civil violations stemming from the spill.
The Attorney General said the criminal probe is “very serious,” but declined to give a timeline on its completion.
“We are moving as quickly as we can,” Holder said. “I think one of the things that I take from what we have done today is an indication of the speed with which we have moved on this.”
Andrew Ramonas contributed reporting.
[...] “I hope that we’ll have a chance to focus on things … that are not going to be politically attractive, but will be of substance and things that have an impact on the day to day lives of the American people,” Holder said at an unrelated news conference on civil lawsuits stemming from the BP oil spill. [...]