WASHINGTON (AP) — A presidential commission that investigated the Gulf oil spill blasted Congress for inaction Tuesday as it issued a report card on industry and government response to the massive BP oil spill.
"Across the board, we are disappointed with Congress's lack of action. Two years have passed since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers, and Congress has yet to enact one piece of legislation to make drilling safer," said former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat who co-chaired the presidential commission.
Sections of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan that have been closed since a 2010 pipeline rupture that spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil in southern Michigan could reopen this summer, The Associated Press reports.
Nicholls State University will hold a conference Wednesday reviewing the effects of the BP PLC oil spill two years ago.
Keynote speaker is Donald Boesch, appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge on Monday extended a deadline for BP and a team of plaintiffs' attorneys to file details of a proposed settlement designed to resolve billions of dollars in economic damage claims spawned by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company and lawyers representing more than 100,000 individuals and businesses were expected late Monday to present the formal terms of the settlement agreement to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans and ask him for preliminary approval.
Government officials are confirming that the oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico came not from offshore drilling operations but a natural seepage from the sea floor, Dow Jones reports.
The state of Florida is seeking a delay in federal court approval of the $7.8 billion settlement between oil giant BP and businesses and individuals affected by its 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reports.
French oil firm Total SA said Saturday that a natural gas leak at one of its plants in Nigeria's crude-rich southern delta may have been going on for weeks.
The leak at its Obite natural gas site has forced the company to evacuate those nearby and led to daily monitoring of air and water surrounding the plant in Nigeria's Rivers state. However, Total's Nigerian subsidiary hasn't made any public statement about the leak since it likely began following an incident March 20, though the company has given near-daily updates about a similar leak at a plant off the United Kingdom in the North Sea.
Government scientists are finding that the Gulf of Mexico, while escaping environmental apocalypse, has sustained an array of lingering damages from the BP oil spill two years ago, affecting sea life from microscopic plankton to dolphins, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Royal Dutch Shell says the number of its operational oil spills nearly doubled last year, reporting in its annual sustainability report that it had 63 operational spills in 2011 and that most of the oil lost was from its Bonga offshore facility in Nigeria, The Associated Press reports.
The European Union and the U.S. Trade Representative's office rejected reports that they were working jointly to settle a dispute with China over solar dumping practices, Reuters reports
Both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Duke Energy said they are unsure how operators missed a crack at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant during testing, the Charlotte Business Journal reports.
A report from Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said several electric utilities said they face frequent cyber attacks on their infrastructure, Reuters reports.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was able to give ample warning ahead of the deadly tornado that hit Moore, Okla., Politico reports.
House Republicans contend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tripled space at its headquarters by using an appropriations bill to get around the congressional authorization process, the Washington Business Journal reports.
House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings and ranking Democratic Rep. Ed Markey called on the Interior Department to extend the public comment period for its proposed public lands hydraulic fracturing rule, FuelFix reports.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., was endorsed by 20 Democrats to replace Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., as ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee should Markey win election to the Senate, Politico reports.
