Government Shutdown: Atlantic Seismic Permitting Blocked by Judge
A federal court judge on Friday ruled that the federal government cannot process seismic testing permits for offshore oil drilling during the ongoing government shutdown, dealing a blow Trump administration's energy agenda.Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court in South Carolina issued the decision in response to a motion filed by a range of conservation and business groups and coastal cities opposed to the adminstration's efforts to expand U.S. offshore drilling.The Justice Department had sought a delay in the court proceedings arguing that it did not have the resources it needed to
US Government Sued Over Atlantic Seismic Testing
on Tuesday to prevent future seismic tests for oil and gas deposits in Atlantic waters off the U.S. East Coast.Seismic testing, which uses air gun blasts, violates federal laws that protect marine mammals, endangered species, and national environmental policy, according the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina, against U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the National Marine Fisheries Service.The U.S. fisheries service in November gave initial permission to five companies to conduct seismic airgun tests beneath a vast region off the East Coast. The permits allow
Shipwreck Recovery to Commence in August
artifacts and coins from a shipwreck site off the coast of North Carolina the parties believe to be the 1838 sinking of the steam paddle wheeler, Pulaski. Endurance discovered the site of the loss and the shipwreck is currently subject of a Swordfish Partners admiralty claim in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa. The wreck has been arrested and Swordfish Partners has been named Substitute Custodian with exclusive rights to make the recovery. The parties expect on site salvage operations to begin mid-August of this year. The terms of the joint
EPA Sued Over Clean Water Rules to Curb Ocean Acidification
global climate change, harms a wide range of marine animals "by hindering their ability to build protective shells and skeletons they need to survive and by disrupting metabolism and critical biological functions," the lawsuit said. According to the 12-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, seawater today is 30 percent more acidic than during the pre-industrial era, and this trend is occurring more rapidly than it has over the past 300 million years. "The EPA is ignoring the threat of ocean acidification, and that's very dangerous," Emily Jeffers
NOAA, Deepwater Horizon Trustees Announce Draft Restoration Plans
Resource Damage Assessment monies that are part of a comprehensive settlement agreement in principle among BP, the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of federal agencies, and the five affected Gulf States announced on July 2, 2015. The Department of Justice lodged today in U.S. District Court a consent decree as part of the more than $20 billion dollar settlement. Image removed by sender. DWH explosion The BP Macondo Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers. Approximately 3.19 million barrels (134 million gallons) of oil were released into
Ruling On BP Fine Over 2010 US Spill Months Away
It may be months before a final verdict is issued on the size of the fine BP Plc will pay under the Clean Water Act for its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, lawyers said on Tuesday after the last phase of the trial ended. U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, Louisiana, is scheduled to receive post-trial briefs from government prosecutors and BP through April 24. Barbier might rule before then although a decision after all briefs are filed is more likely, the lawyers said. In arguments that wrapped up on Monday, BP tried to whittle away at $13.7 billion in
US Judge: BP Spill Smaller Than Feared
BP Plc will face Clean Water Act fines for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill of up to $13.7 billion, less than a maximum of $17.6 billion it could have been fined, after a judge ruled on Thursday the size of the spill was 3.19 million barrels. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier put the spill's size well below the 4.09 million barrel estimate of the government and the 3.26 million estimated by BP. All these totals exclude some 810,000 barrels that were collected during clean-up of the worst offshore disaster in U.S. history. Under a "gross negligence"
US, ATP-IP Reach Settlement over Unauthorized Oil Discharges
;s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This is the first joint judicial enforcement action involving EPA and BSEE claims in response to alleged violations of both the Clean Water Act and OCSLA. The United States’ complaint, which was filed in February 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges that oil and an unauthorized chemical dispersant were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from ATP-IP’s oil and gas production platform known as the ATP Innovator. A BSEE inspection of the ATP Innovator in 2012 revealed alleged unlawful discharges
Family Finds Sunken Treasure Off Florida Coast
Ocean waters. Schmitt, who lives near Orlando, last year discovered about $300,000 worth of gold coins and chains from the same wreckage, Brisben said. Schmitt's parents have hunted for sunken treasure as a hobby for a decade. By law, the treasure will be placed into the custody of the U.S. District Court in South Florida, Brisben said. The state of Florida may take possession of up to 20 percent of the find. The rest will be split evenly between Brisben's company and the Schmitt family. (By Barbara Liston, Editing by Letitia Stein and Sandra Maler
February 2025
