2.27.13
Oil Spill
BP executive says Transocean, not BP, was in charge of safety on Deepwater
Horizon
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated February 26, 2013 at 8:32 PM
Senior BP executive Lamar McKay testified in federal court Tuesday in the
civil trial stemming from the disastrous Gulf oil spill in April 2010 that
his world-class oil exploration and production company's management system
for safety calls for safety decisions on rigs it hires to drill oil wells,
such as the Deepwater Horizon, to be determined by the rig owner, and not
BP's management.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/02/bp_executive_says_transocean_n.html#incart_m-rpt-2
First Witnesses Testify in Gulf Spill Trial
Wall Street Journal
By TOM FOWLER
NEW ORLEANS—An expert witness for plaintiffs suing BP said the 2010
Deepwater Horizon accident was "a classic failure of management and
leadership in BP" at the trial here in federal district court over
liability for the disaster.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323384604578328610759397992.html
Witness in Gulf oil spill trial charges BP had flawed safety record
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated February 26, 2013 at 5:54 PM
The BP oil spill trial's second day featured testimony from retired
University of California-Berkeley civil and petroleum engineering professor
Robert Bea, who was called by the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee to discuss
how BP's safety record compares with industry standards.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/02/witness_in_gulf_oil_spill_tria.html
UC expert questions BP management's role in gulf oil spill
LA Times
By Michael Muskal
February 26, 2013, 10:49 a.m.
An expert witness for those suing BP over the nation's worst environmental
disaster criticized the company's investigation of the oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico as the civil trial entered its second day.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-expert-questions-bp-managements-role-in-gulf-oil-spill-20130226,0,1650579.story
Judge hears testimony from high-ranking BP official at trial over Gulf oil
spill
By Associated Press,
NEW ORLEANS — A high-ranking BP executive testified Tuesday that the
London-based oil giant and its contractors share the responsibility for
preventing blowouts like the one that killed 11 workers and spawned the
nation's worst offshore oil spill in 2010.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/billions-of-dollars-at-stake-for-bp-other-companies-as-trial-opens-for-gulf-oil-spill/2013/02/25/d4bca108-7fb6-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
Top BP official to take stand again at trial assessing responsibility for
2010 Gulf oil spill
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 4:06 AM
NEW ORLEANS — The first BP executive to testify at a federal trial over the
nation's worst oil spill was to take the stand for a second day Wednesday
before a judge tasked with deciding whether the London-based oil giant and
other companies acted with gross negligence for the 2010 disaster in the
Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/judge-hears-testimony-from-high-ranking-bp-official-at-trial-over-gulf-oil-spill/2013/02/26/29fb568e-8073-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
BP Executive Testifies That a Rig Explosion in the Gulf Was a Known Risk
NY Times
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and BARRY MEIER
NEW ORLEANS — On the first day of testimony in the BP Gulf of Mexico oil
spill trial, BP's top executive for North American operations at the time
of the disaster acknowledged on Tuesday that a well explosion had been
identified as a risk before it happened.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/business/energy-environment/bp-executive-says-explosion-was-known-risk.html?ref=earth&_r=0&pagewanted=print
BP accepts role in spill at trial, aims to spread blame
Reuters
Tue, Feb 26 2013
By Kristen Hays
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - After hearing claims that BP Plc put profits above
safety in the first day of court testimony over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico
disaster, a senior executive for the oil company insisted the blame should
be shared.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/27/us-bp-spill-trial-idUSBRE91P0NI20130227
BP Profit Push 'Root Cause' of Gulf Spill, Witness Says
Bloomberg
By Jef Feeley, Margaret Cronin Fisk and Allen Johnson Jr. - Feb 27, 2013
BP Plc (BP/)'s push to maximize profits and cut costs at the Macondo well
was a "root cause" of the explosion that led to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, a safety expert who studied the disaster said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-26/bp-profit-push-root-cause-of-gulf-spill-witness-says.html
State News
Bryant signs Mississippi Power's Kemper legislation
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
Gov. Phil Bryant signed bills Tuesday that Mississippi Power says give it
financing flexibility to allow rates to be raised by as much as 25 percent,
instead of about 33 percent, to pay for the more than $3 billion Kemper
County power plant.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/02/26/4492357/mississippi-powers-kemper-rate.html
Tupelo Council preps for new trash contract
by NEMS Daily Journal
02.27.13 - 06:10 am
TUPELO – Larger recycling bins will be on the table as the Tupelo City
Council prepares to move forward on a residential waste collection
contract.
http://djournal.com/view/full_story/21827670/article-Tupelo-Council-preps-for-new-trash-contract?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Pair sue Speight over alleged biofuels frauds
by Patsy R. Brumfield
NEMS Daily Journal
02.27.13 - 06:00 am
PONTOTOC – Former biofuels business partners W. Tommy Tacker II and Janey
Tyner last week sued their other partner in Pontotoc Circuit Court.
http://djournal.com/view/full_story/21827466/article-Pair-sue-Speight-over-alleged-biofuels-frauds?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
National News
Acting EPA chief warns staff of furloughs
Tue, Feb 26 2013
Reuters
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The acting head of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) warned staff on Tuesday that it may place an unspecified
number of jobs on temporary furlough if across-the-board federal budget
cuts take effect at the end of this week.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/26/us-usa-fiscal-epa-idUSBRE91P0VC20130226
NASA: Climate change thins forests in eastern U.S.
USA Today
Years of drought and high temperatures have damaged not only corn
and other crops nationwide but also the forests in the eastern
United States, NASA satellites show.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/26/nasa-climate-change-forests-eastern-us/1949133/
Oil industry, at White House, makes case against EPA fuels rule
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 02/26/13 10:24 AM ET
Big refining companies and a major industry trade group are taking their
case against tougher Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vehicle
emissions and fuel rules to the White House.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/284889-oil-industry-at-white-house-makes-case-against-epa-fuels-rule
Pending EPA ruling on coal ash dumping escalates feud between Lake Michigan
ferry companies
By Associated Press, Published: February 26
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — On one level, it's a straightforward case of a
business seeking a government permit to discharge wastewater.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/pending-epa-ruling-on-coal-ash-dumping-escalates-feud-between-lake-michigan-ferry-companies/2013/02/26/f9daa582-8062-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
Opinion
MICHAEL NEWSOM: Danny Guice slashes DMR budget - literally
Sun Herald
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resource's interim head honcho
recently gave the Sun Herald some of the strangest public documents I've
ever seen.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/02/26/4492773/michael-newsom-danny-guice-slashes.html
