Congress Tagged Articles

BP agrees to establish $20 billion fund to aid Gulf Coast residents

Posted: June 17, 2010 Environmental

After a remarkable four-hour meeting between the White House Administration and BP’s top executives, the oil giant has agreed to create a $20 billion fund to pay damage claims filed by thousands of fishermen and others economically harmed by the

CPSC names Chinese companies responsible for toxic drywall

Posted: May 27, 2010 Product Liability

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission has identified the manufacturers of the Chinese drywall that thousands of homeowners say has ruined their homes and their health. Enough toxic drywall to build 30,000 homes entered U.S. ports from China during the

BP rejects EPA's demand for less toxic chemical oil dispersant

Posted: May 24, 2010 Environmental

Tensions continue to mount between BP and the federal government, first  over the oil giant’s failure to stop its oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico (the next attempt to contain the spill has been delayed until Wednesday) and now

Level of oil dispersant chemicals used in Gulf raises concerns

Posted: May 21, 2010 Environmental

The Environmental Protection Agency gave BP on Wednesday 24 hours to find an oil dispersant less toxic than the ones it has been spraying in massive quantities above the Gulf of Mexico and under the surface. The EPA requested that

Failure to perform critical safety test, serious design = oil rig disaster

Posted: May 21, 2010 Environmental

A leading oilfield services provider says that BP hired it to test the cement linings on the Deepwater Horizon’s drill column, but quit the testing and sent the crew home before its work was completed. Eleven hours later, natural gas

Feds assess BP's record, company could lose its U.S. contracts

Posted: May 21, 2010 Environmental

Environmental Protection Agency officials are reviewing BP’s troubled record of drilling for oil on U.S. soil and federal waters to determine whether the company should be barred from receiving government contracts. Such a move, if it comes to pass, could

Oil spill hearings continue, failures revealed, blame game intensifies

Posted: May 12, 2010 Environmental

Executives from BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and other corporations tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee today trying to explain why their “failproof” systems failed, creating an unprecedented threat to the wildlife, industries

Oil lobbyists determined federal policy of offshore drilling safety

Posted: May 10, 2010 Environmental

The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service allowed the oil industry to write federal policy governing the implementation of safety systems and backups, according to a New York Times report.

Tourism in Gulf Coast states already taking a hit from oil spill

Posted: May 7, 2010 Environmental

As the Deepwater Horizon oil slick looms in the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles south of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwest Florida coasts, the area’s tourism industry has already felt an enormous impact. Except for parts of Louisiana

BP's 'willfull misconduct' key to full compensation for oil spill damages

Posted: May 6, 2010 Environmental

BP CEO Tony Hayward has said that his company will pay for all “legitimate” damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but those expenses are impossible to calculate as the site continues to spew more than 200,000 gallons of