NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible satellite image of the Gulf oil spill on May 17, 2010 from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Instrument on-board. The oil slick appears as a dull gray on the water's surface and stretches south from the Mississippi Delta with what looks like a tail. From top left to top right are the states Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Scientists are worried that the huge plumes of oil could get into a current that would take the oil around Florida. UPI/NASA |
License Photo
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. government says the size of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be determined by the courts rather than just through purely scientific calculations.
Government estimates of the number of barrels of spilled oil, almost certain to be contested by well owner BP, will be only one factor in the final determination of the scope of the spill and the fines levied as a result, said Assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno, head of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
BP has indicated it plans to contest the government's estimate that at least 4.9 million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf following the April 20 oil well blowout, the Houston Chronicle reported Friday.
Under the Clean Water Act, companies can be hit with fines of up to $1,100 for each spilled barrel, going as high as $4,300 if they are found to be grossly negligent.
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against BP and eight other companies in mid-December seeking tens of billions of dollars in fines, cleanup costs and economic damages.
"There are experts right now at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration who are very engaged in the task with others making some of the assessments," Moreno said. "Certainly the determination in the context of litigation about how much oil was spilled is something that is going to be litigated and will be determined at some future date."
BP said the government's numbers "rely on incomplete or inaccurate information, rest in large part on assumptions that have not been validated and are subject to far great uncertainties than have been acknowledged."
