Numerous fisherman are being sidelined by the BP oil leak as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico rages. BP has been cutting checks to settle claims for a Gulf fishing industry in limbo, but those payments are a drop within the bucket compared to the oil spill cleanup costs BP has incurred so far. The oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has already fouled about 65 miles of the Louisiana coastline as of Monday. An try to plug the BP oil leak with a "top kill" may take place Wednesday, and Congress is debating BP's oil spill liability. Meanwhile, BP is not making any friends in Washington as lawmakers expressed outrage at the fact the oil business continued to use a toxic oil spill dispersant despite directives to find an alternative.
Source of Article: BP pays off fishermen as oil spill destroys sea life
BP oil leak puts fishermen in trouble
What comes as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 is the closure of a huge expanse of ocean to commercial and recreational fishing. More than 23,000 workers and business owners along the Gulf Coast have filed claims for lost income, according to NNNMoney.com reports. So far, BP has cut checks for payday cash on 9,000 claims totaling up to $ 27.8 million. Fishing boat captains have been getting $ 5,000 a month when deck hands get $ 1,000. Operating three boats in Venice, LA, owner of Super Strike Charters Damon McKnights told CNN that he was expecting to bring in $ 50,000 per month during the gulf fishing season's May to August peak.
Oil spill liability trust fund
BP recently said that oil spill cleanup costs have exceeded $ 350 million, or $ 16 million per day, given that the April 20 explosion that sank BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP is made responsible for oil spill cleanup costs because of a law that was passed in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. The law, nevertheless, sets a $ 75 million limit on other kinds of damages, such as lost wages. Various Democratic senators, as reported by the Associated Press, introduced legislation Monday to raise the oil spill liability limit to $ 10 billion as it appears a lot more likely the Gulf Coast economic losses will exceed the current limit. The federal government also maintains an Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund supported by oil industry fees. It can make a total of $ 1 billion in payouts per incident to individuals, companies and governments.
Oil spill cleanup outpaced by BP oil leak
Governor Bobby Jindal said Monday the BP oil leak has reached landfall on about 65 miles of Louisiana shoreline. Gov. Jindal implored the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly approve a plan to build artificial barrier islands out of sand to hold back the oil, as outlined by the New York Times. Estimates of the quantity of the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 range from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's 6.3 million gallons to a BP worst case estimate of 82.7 million gallons depending on a figure given by a senior BP executive to members of Congress in a closed-door briefing on May 4.
Oil spill cleanup method highly toxic
The oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 cleanup hit a snag Monday as government officials sparred with BP over its failure to meet response effort deadlines. For refusing to discontinue use of a toxic dispersant to break up the oil slick, BP is now under a lot of tension. BP claims there were no other alternative less toxic, and it prepared a top kill to plug the ruptures well. Also reported by the New York Times, since the BP oil leak began more than a month ago, BP has applied about 70,000 gallons of the dispersant in the gulf – the largest quantity of dispersant ever used on an oil spill in United States waters. BP is hoping that the top kill - pumping heavy liquid into the well - could possibly stop the leak on Wednesday.