September, 10 2010, 02:58pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Darcey Rakestraw, 202-683-2467;
drakestraw (at) fwwatch.org
Food & Water Watch Asks Federal Court to Order BP to Shut Down One of World's Largest Oil and Gas Platforms
The national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch today
filed its long awaited lawsuit against BP in federal court for violating
a number of federal laws in the operation of the BP Atlantis oil and
gas platform, one of the largest of its kind in the world.
HOUSTON, TX
The national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch today
filed its long awaited lawsuit against BP in federal court for violating
a number of federal laws in the operation of the BP Atlantis oil and
gas platform, one of the largest of its kind in the world.
"We have evidence that Atlantis is unsafe and is in danger of
creating an even worse spill than the one caused by the Deepwater
Horizon explosion," said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food
& Water Watch. "Tony Hayward's failure to be forthcoming when
Congress questioned him about Atlantis and BP's inconsistent statements
over the last year are an indication that they are hiding the dangerous
truth about Atlantis."
In the suit, Food & Water Watch and
former-company-contractor-turned-whistleblower Kenneth Abbott allege
that BP began producing oil and gas at its Atlantis facility without
having, and then maintaining, a large percentage of critical engineering
documents that are needed for the facility to operate safely. The
company's document deficiencies violate its lease agreements as well as a
number of government regulations mandating that the company have, and
in some cases submit, such documents to get federal government approval
and third-party safety verification of the facility, and for it to start
and continue production under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
The suit alleges that the violations are flagrant and "present an
imminent risk of damage to the environment in and surrounding the Gulf
of Mexico, and to the general public health," and asks for the court to
order BP to cease all production operations at the BP Atlantis Project,
unless and until BP demonstrates that it is in full compliance with the
law.
"Since federal regulators have continuously dragged their feet in the
investigation of Atlantis, and BP has refused to take any corrective
action, we now are taking this fight to the courts," Hauter said. "The
platform must be shut down until proven safe."
In light of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and resulting
damages, 34 legislators nationally have called for the shut down of BP
Atlantis until it can be proven safe, fearing an even more catastrophic
accident. While the Minerals Management Service (MMS--now the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, or BOEMRE) has known
about the problem since April 2009 and has claimed an ongoing
investigation, it has yet to complete it. Recently, it said it would not
complete its investigation until mid-October 2010, even though experts
contend that determining BP's compliance with the law could take a mere
matter of days.
In May 2010, Food & Water Watch sued the MMS for its failed
oversight of the Atlantis facility. The organization was forced to
withdraw the case when BP intervened a month later, contending that the
company should have received official notice of the alleged violations.
Food & Water Watch fired back in July 2010, giving the BP and the
MMS official notice of its intent to sue. Federal law required the
organization to wait 60 days after notice is given to allow BP and the
agency to correct their behavior. Neither party responded.
The organization has since decided to focus its legal efforts solely
on BP. The organization brought its suit by amending it to an existing
lawsuit that whistleblower Kenneth Abbott brought against BP in 2009 for
essentially the same violations of the law, saying that BP violated the
federal False Claims Act when it illegally certified it was in
compliance with all environmental and safety regulations.
Atlantis is located 150 miles off the coast of Louisiana, drilling at
a depth of 7,000 feet. Last March, Mr. Abbott reported to the
authorities that Atlantis has been operating without a large percentage
of the engineer-approved documents needed for it to operate safely. BP
management has even noted that an accident resulting from "catastrophic
Operator errors" could occur on Atlantis due to its missing documents.
Food & Water Watch has been working with Mr. Abbott since last July to bring Atlantis's possible safety risk to light.
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
(202) 683-2500LATEST NEWS
Grand Jury Indicts Top Trump Aides, 11 Arizona Republicans Over 'Fake Electors' Scheme
Had it succeeded, said the state's attorney general, the scheme would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
Apr 25, 2024
A grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday charged seven aides to Donald Trump and nearly a dozen Republican officials over a "fake electors" scheme in the state that aimed to keep the former president in power after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump, who is currently facing nearly 90 charges across four criminal cases as he runs for another White House term, was described as "unindicted co-conspirator 1" in the 58-page indictment, which was announced by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
"The people of Arizona elected President Biden," Mayes, a Democrat, said Wednesday. "Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency. Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for."
The indictment names former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, sitting state Republican Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon, and seven others as the "fake electors" who sought to declare Trump the rightful winner of the state's presidential contest.
The names of other individuals indicted by the state grand jury are redacted, but the document's descriptions make clear that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and top Trump legal strategist Boris Epshteyn are among those facing felony charges—including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.
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Mayes said Wednesday that had the fake elector scheme succeeded, it would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
"It effectively would have made their right to vote meaningless," said Mayes.
A state grand jury, made up of everyday, regular Arizonans, has handed down felony indictments in the ongoing investigation into the fake elector scheme in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/Nu8GcD4ZqJ
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 24, 2024
Alex Gulotta, state director of All Voting Is Local Action Arizona, said Wednesday that "the indictment of the eleven fake electors is one of the first steps required in holding these election deniers accountable for their alleged attempts to take power away from voters by disrupting our free and fair elections."
"Arizonans deserve to trust the election officials responsible for administering our elections and preserving our democracy," said Gulotta, "and this is a positive step forward as we continue to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and restore faith in our elections."
The Arizona Republicreported Wednesday that "several of the Arizona electors have previously claimed they were merely offering Congress a backup plan, though nothing in the documents they sent to Congress and the National Archives backs up that assertion."
"The indictment includes several statements the false electors made on social media that contradict those claims," the newspaper observed.
Jenny Guzman, director of Common Cause's Arizona program, said the indictment "marks the start of a new chapter for the fake elector scheme that has plagued Arizona."
"Arizonans are still dealing with the fallout from the false electors and the Big Lie about the 2020 elections," said Guzman. "We are relieved that the investigation by Attorney General Mayes has concluded and Arizonans can now know that what comes next is accountability. These efforts by these fake electors to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters have had implications far beyond their failed attempt to overthrow the 2020 election."
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A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money."
CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
According to CLC:
Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
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"The steps taken by the Trump campaign, its affiliated committees, and Red Curve Solutions concealed information about how campaign funds were used to pay former President Trump's legal expenditures, including the amounts and ultimate recipients of these expenditures—and the FEC must investigate immediately," Chlopak added.
Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
The new CLC filing comes a day after the watchdog filed separate FEC complaints urging investigations into a pair of Trump-affiliated "scam PACs," which "pretend to fundraise for major candidates or issues while secretly diverting almost all of their donors' money back into fundraising or the fraudsters' own pockets."
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Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday joined with Democrats to advance legislation that would repeal an 1864 ban on abortion—a development rights advocates welcomed while stressing that the fight is far from over.
The 32-28 vote on House Bill 2677—with GOP Reps. Tim Dunn (25), Matt Gress (4), and Justin Wilmeth (2) voting in favor—was the third attempt in as many weeks to pass repeal legislation since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the ban.
"The state Senate could vote on the repeal as early as next Wednesday, after the bill comes on the floor for a 'third reading,' as is required under chamber rules," according toNBC News. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday toldThe Washington Post that "I am hopeful the Senate does the right thing and sends it to my desk so I can sign it."
Applauding the House passage of H.B. 2677, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona president and CEO Angela Florez said that "today, Arizona is one step closer to repealing the state's Civil War-era total abortion ban. While the repeal still must pass the Senate, this is a major win for reproductive freedom."
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Florez noted that "even with the repeal of the Civil War-era ban, the state will still have a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that denies people access to critical care. And lawmakers continue to attack Arizonans' ability to access reproductive healthcare. Our right to control our bodies and lives is hanging on by a thread."
"Thankfully, voters will have the opportunity to take back control if the Arizona Abortion Access Act is on the ballot this November," she added. "Abortion bans are out-of-step with the will of Arizonans and will force pregnant people to leave their communities for essential healthcare. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona will continue fighting to ensure everyone has the right to make decisions about their health and futures."
The Arizona Abortion Access Act is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would prevent many limits on abortions before fetal viability and safeguard access to care after viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the patient.
The coalition supporting the amendment, Arizona for Abortion Access, highlighted on social media that the House-approved bill "did not include the emergency clause required to stop the 1864 ban from taking effect on June 8," meaning H.B. 2677 wouldn't apply until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.
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While the presumptive GOP nominee has tried to distance himself from the Arizona Supreme Court's reinstatement of a 160-year-old abortion ban, he has also campaigned on his three appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped reverse Roe v. Wade.
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