Whistleblower calls out Bush Justice Department for letting BP off easy

EPA whistle-blower Scott West came forward yesterday charging that criminal prosecution of BP for the North Slope's largest-ever oil spill in 2006 was illegally blunted by Bush administration political appointees. The $20 million misdemeanor fine that was issued is far lower than the EPA's recommended fine of between $58 and $672 million. Also, investigation into felonies by BP executives was abruptly halted, before evidence had even been reviewed, and over objections of staff. (Download the /letter)

At root the case is about BP cutting corners by skimping on corrosion protection and control and leak detection systems. By cutting costs they increase profit. But, at the expense of more and bigger and worse spills and workplace injuries.

"The BP Alaska settlement is part of a pattern of "lowball" corporate public safety and pollution settlements engineered by the Bush Justice Department," West and Public Employees for Environmental Ethics said in a letter to the DOJ Inspector General asking for an investigation. "A $20 million fine is essentially a rounding error in terms of the money BP makes in Alaska. There is little deterrent value in this amount to encourage BP to change its ways..."

"The deterrence value of criminal fines is being systematically undermined by this DOJ," they write, pointing to"outrageous"  low-ball settlements in the Olympic Pipeline explosion, Selandang Ayu sinking, and BP Texas City explosion.

West's allegations certainly fit into some familiar patterns. Justice Department being run by political hacks, big corporations getting slaps on the wrist for dangerous behavior, and evidence of wrongdoing being covered up. Corrosion continues to eat away the oilfield, and spills continue to happen. The only real surprise here is that this time, someone from the inside came forward and is making a fuss about it. 

With the new administration we hope the Inspector General takes these allegations seriously. The whistle-blower writes that other senior managers can corroborate the allegations, "but they cannot openly talk at this time because their jobs would be in jeopardy." That in itself points to something wrong. Time to clean up your act, guys.

The bottom line in all this is that oil companies and regulators aren't doing their jobs. The results are evident in spill and explosions that continue to threaten Alaska's environment and workers, and the Nation's oil supply. Sweetheart deals are the almost inevitable result of doing things behind closed doors, and locking actual stakeholders out. Political appointees and corporate hacks are never going to do the right thing unless they are held accountable and their dealings are exposed to the light of day. 

The ultimate solution then are Regional Citizen Advisory Councils that give stakeholders a seat at the table. That's what was done here in Prince William Sound after the Exxon Valdez, and it has done wonders. Contact your representative and tell them we need to do this, and join the CWP to help us make them.