The Justice Department on Wednesday is expected to seek to join civil lawsuits resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the first major federal legal action in the matter, according to people familiar with the situation.
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From Times staff reporter Jill Kimball
Multiple state and federal agencies will join forces to test their oil-spill preparedness near Kirkland on Tuesday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Ecology and other agencies will test spill-response equipment on the Puget, an Army Corps of Engineers ship, just north of the Interstate 520 bridge on Lake Washington from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Puget is a 104-foot vessel that patrols the inland waters of the Sound.
The drill is intended to test the agencies’ ability to work together in the event of a hazardous spill and to make sure all the agencies involved are well-versed in handling the equipment aboard the Puget.
The drill comes just one month after Congress passed a bill that expands oil-spill response capabilities in Puget Sound. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who helped push the bill through, said in October that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year helped underline the bill’s urgency.
The Seattle Times: The Blotter
A report charges the public was given low estimates on the severity of the oil flow.
Portland Press Herald News Stories
Ten percent of the companies held by the Guinness Atkinson Global Energy Fund were directly involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The fund’s investing philosophy helped limit its downside exposure.
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HOUSTON (AP) — Federal investigators seeking the cause of the rig explosion that led to BP’s massive Gulf oil spill focused Monday on communication and chain of command, wondering at times whether the key players knew enough to handle an emergency.
Neil Cramond, who oversees BP’s marine operations in the …
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BILOXI, Miss. – BP’s new boss says it’s time for a "scaleback" in cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Federal officials say there is no way the crude could reach the East Coast. And fishing areas are starting to reopen.
Philly.com News
A tropical storm will likely avoid the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this week as the system heads in a different direction toward Mexico City, forecasters said Sunday.
Real-Time News: Latest Northeast Ohio News – cleveland.com
BP said it has spent .35 billion to date to clean up, contain and pay out claims and grants to the states on the Gulf of Mexico that have been impacted by the U.S.’s largest oil spill.
WSJ.com: What’s News US
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has already claimed many victims — from pelicans to oyster beds and precious marshland. But there may be one more: a species only just recently discovered.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs on Tuesday said the administration is ready to take over the handling of oil-spill damage claims from BP if the British company doesn’t set up an “independent entity” to do it.
Speaking from Washington, Mr. Gibbs said the oil giant’s claims processing work …
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