escrow account to pay damage claims in the region, a senior
The Obama administration could use its legal
authority under the federal oil pollution act — the landmark
legislation passed a year after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill — to force
BP to set up such a fund to cover damages that are likely to be
astronomical and could prove to be a burden even for BP, which posted a
“Our mission is to hold them accountable in every appropriate way,” Obama adviser
“Meet the Press” Sunday morning. “He is going to be very clear about
what our expectations are in terms of taking care of the people who’ve
been damaged by this crisis.”
In a letter to BP chief
The push for an escrow account is one of several
strategies planned by the administration this week in an apparent
effort to rebut mounting criticism from both the left and right that
Obama has failed to respond to the disaster with sufficient adroitness
or passion.
Before meeting face-to-face with BP executives
Wednesday, the president will travel to the Gulf Monday for his fourth
visit to the region since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded
killing 11 men and starting what has become the largest oil spill in
U.S. history. On Tuesday night, the president plans to deliver a
nationwide address on the spill and the government’s response.
The federal government and American public have
become increasingly frustrated with BP after its numerous failed
efforts to stop the leak — and as the original estimate of a 1,000
barrel per day problem has been dramatically revised upward. On Friday,
federal officials said that number could be closer to 40,000 barrels
per day.
This weekend,
saw the worst effects of the gusher yet on its coastal beaches, as
waves of oil mixed with Sargasso seaweed up to five inches thick washed
ashore. Crews in
cleaned up much of it by Sunday morning, but tar balls remained on the
sand and an oil sheen was visible on the water. The city government
prohibited swimming on a beachfront usually packed this time of year.
“Everybody down here’s so frustrated with the situation and there’s nothing they can really do about it,” said
Meanwhile,
BP’s board of directors was scheduled to meet Monday, according to Pack, who would not divulge the board’s agenda.
BP executives have promised to pay all “legitimate” claims arising from the oil spill, despite a legal cap of
for economic damage. But those promises have not reassured all those
affected by the disaster, including fishermen, oil workers and business
operators who have lost their livelihoods along the
that depend on tourism. Some have feared that BP could declare
bankruptcy or be taken over by another company in an effort to limit
its liability.
Administration officials downplayed the possibility
of a BP bankruptcy, but said they want a commitment from the oil giant
to set aside a substantial fund so claims can be paid quickly.
The oil giant could tap its estimated
in cash reserves or borrow. But borrowing costs could be higher after
two agencies lowered BP’s credit rating from “AA plus” to “AA” earlier
this month. The company has lost about half its market value since the
disaster. The company has said it has shelled out
On CNN’s “State of the Union,”
oil workers. “I really don’t care how they do it, whether they set up
an escrow account or not,” he said.
“But we have to do something. If you look at what’s going on with the economy and the state of
And with the beaches the way they are this morning, it’s going to be
very, very difficult to sustain the economic balance that we’ve had in
the past.”
Asked about who should receive compensation in all
of these far-flung businesses, Riley replied: “Every one of them … I
don’t think there is a dividing line.”
Gov.
has blamed “sensational” press coverage that he said has scared away
tourists who believe, wrongly, that his state’s beaches have been
fouled.
But in
there was no denying reality after the onslaught of gooey, viscous oil
Saturday. Brown, the city recreation head, said that the question of
how to lure visitors amid the mess had become “the million dollar
question.”
Brown said the city would emphasize the many inland
water attractions that have not been affected by the Gulf spill.
However, he added, “The beach is the main draw — and everybody loves to
go to the beach.”
Brown laid out some of the long-term threats to the area, including the 40,000 tourism-dependent jobs in
City officials are worried, he said, that the oil could compromise the
offshore sand that is dredged each year and used to broaden the resort
town’s trademark pearly white beaches.
The drama was also unfolding in tiny, though no less
dramatic, ways. Late Saturday, a sea turtle swam through the oily mess
and laid a new nest on the
Although motorized vehicles are not supposed to be
used in cleanup in the area used by the turtles, the beach was soon
swarming with all-terrain vehicles and heavy equipment, and one of the
vehicles ran over the new nest, said
Reynolds said that volunteers were able to find the
nest and safely dig up 127 new ping pong-ball-sized eggs and rebury
them in a safe spot.
This was the first nest laid in the area since the
oil spill began. It will be fenced off to protect the eggs until they
hatch in about two months.
As of Saturday, 374 sea turtles affected by the oil
spill have been collected by wildlife authorities, 315 of them dead. A
total of 42 turtles were visibly oiled.
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(c) 2010, Tribune Co.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
