Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
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BOEM Adjusts Limit of Liability for Oil Spills from Offshore Facilities
1/9/2018 Increase needed to keep pace with inflation, preserve deterrent effect
As part of the Obama Administration's ongoing efforts to ensure the safe and responsible production of domestic offshore energy resources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has administratively increased the limit of liability for oil-spill related damages from $75 million to approximately $134 million for offshore oil and gas facilities. This is consistent with recommendations to increase the liability cap from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and other studies and represents the maximum increase allowable under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
“BOEM is taking an important step to better preserve the “polluter pays” principle of the Oil Pollution Act and further promote safe and environmentally responsible operations,” said Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “This is the first administrative adjustment since the Oil Pollution Act was enacted in 1990 and is needed to keep pace with inflation, which has increased 78 percent since then.”
The administrative adjustment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 liability cap for offshore facilities is based on the significant increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that has occurred since 1990. The liability cap is set by statute and may only be adjusted to address significant increases in the CPI. The increase to $134 million represents the maximum increase that may be implemented absent new legislation.
Shell to Pay $83 Million Settlement for Nigeria Oil Spills
By Elisha Bala-GbogboJan 7, 2015 2:26 AM ET
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) agreed to pay compensation to thousands of residents of the Bodo community in Nigeria’s crude-rich Niger River delta region for two “highly regrettable” oil spills in 2008.
Shell will pay a total of 55 million pounds ($83.3 million) with “an individual payment to each claimant who accepts the settlement agreement in compensation for losses arising from the spills,” the Hague-based company said today in a statement. The settlement follows a three-year legal tussle between Shell and 15,600 Nigerians from Ogoniland, mostly fishermen, in a London court.
Shell said it would soon begin work to clean up the spill sites after the agreement was reached.
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Enbridge shuts oil pipeline to U.S. after spill in Canada
December 19, 2014
Canadian oil supplies to the U.S. Midwest were disrupted after Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO 2.51%) shut a pipeline because of a leak.
The company isolated its Line 4 pipe at the Regina terminal in Saskatchewan yesterday after about 1,350 barrels of oil were released within an on-site pumping station, according to a statement. The company is excavating the line around a pumphouse and hasn't provided an estimate for how long repairs may take, Gerard Kay, deputy chief of operations at Regina Fire and Protective Services, said by phone.
EPA Decides That Coal Ash, Which Pervades Our Homes, Is Non-Hazardous
By Wendy KochNational Geographic
Published December 19, 2014
From roof shingles to drywall to concrete countertops, products made with leftover waste from coal-fired power plants are in many U.S. homes.
About 45 percent of this dustlike material—known as coal ash—is recycled into products as elemental as pavement and foundations. Such reuse, up from 30 percent in 2000, is generally considered safe and welcomed by most everyone, from utilities seeking to lower disposal costs to environmentalists looking to lower carbon emissions.
But that's only half the story.
The other 55 percent of coal ash, which can contain toxic substances like arsenic, is often stored in ponds next to waterways. In December 2008, more than a billion gallons leaked into the Emory River and nearby land from the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee.
So on Friday, facing a court-ordered deadline, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a long-awaited decision: Coal ash needs to be safely disposed of but is not a hazardous waste.
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Great Lakes pollution no longer driven by airborne sources; land, rivers now bigger factors
Date: December 17, 2014Source: University of Rhode Island
Summary: A researcher who measured organic pollutants in the air and water around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario has found that airborne emissions are no longer the primary cause of the lakes’ contamination. Instead, most of the lakes’ chemical pollutants come from sources on land or in rivers.
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