Radnofsky Blasts Abbott Over AG’s Defense Of BP

HOUSTON — Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a 2010 nominee for Texas Attorney General, is nearly weekly blasting Republican seated Texas AG Greg Abbott over his handling of the BP oil surge disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Abbott, on May 3, instead of taking an investigatory and protective nature for Texas’ future made the pronouncement that BP had made “all the right actions and all the right comments,” in praise of BP’s handling of the April 20, 2010 oil “spill” although later concessions were made by BP’s chief executive demonstrated by congressional investigations.

Said Radnofsky, “Rep. Henry Waxman, D – Calif., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that while there are ‘far more questions than answers,’ documents and testimony provided to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Panel show confusion among BP officials and on the rig about how to seal off the exploratory well.”

“Mr. Abbott’s May 3 praise of ‘all the right actions and all the right comments’ by BP as of that date are further contradicted by concessions made last night (May 12, 2010) by BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward in an interview reported today by the Wall Street Journal online. Hayward conceded ‘missteps’ by BP early on after the April 20 spill, including handing out contracts to damage claimants which barred them from making any future claims. The BP Chief Executive also stated BP had taken too long to get the claims process up and running,” noted Radnofsky.

Said Radnofsky, “Mr. Abbott demeans his office when he advocates for BP instead of Texas. He has forgotten that his client is Texas and not BP. Since he cannot zealously prosecute BP on behalf of Texas if need be, he should renounce his May 3 comments, or resign.”

Misstatement of Leak Size

Several days after the April 20 blowout, BP estimated that the well was leaking 1,000 barrels per day. On April 27, Sky Truth, using satellite images of the Gulf, reported that the flow rate was higher. The following day the government, over objections by BP, raised the estimate to 5,000 barrels per day. Scientists believe those estimates are inaccurately very low. BP has wrongly dismissed the importance of reasonable, scientific measurements. According to recent press reports, “Scientists studying video of the gushing oil well have tentatively calculated that it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day.”

“BP continues to ignore the importance of understanding the true size of the oil spill. They have maintained that stopping the leak is more important than measuring the size. They have also stated that there is no way to measure the leak,” said Radnofsky.

Use of Inferior Dispersants

In a BP press release dated April 25, BP stated that dispersants had already been applied to the spill. This BP press release was issued nine days before Abbott’s premature declaration that BP has made “all the right actions and all the right comments.” BP has admitted to application of more than 400,000 gallons of Corexit dispersant in the Gulf of Mexico. According to reported EPA data, Corexit ranks far above dispersants made by competitors in toxicity and far below competitors in effectiveness in handling southern Louisiana crude.

Scientists, backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suspect the heavy use of chemical dispersants, which BP has injected into the stream of oil emerging from the well, may have broken the oil up into droplets too small to rise rapidly.

“Why was Attorney General so quick to proclaim that BP had made ‘all the right actions and all the right comments’?,” said Radnofsky. “He has 2 million reasons. According to Attorney General Abbott’s publicly available campaign finance reports between 1992 and 2009, he accepted over $2 million in campaign contributions.”

She added, “The Attorney General should proceed now with discovery against BP, requiring BP to produce its disaster contingency plans as of April 20, and all new plans developed after.

“The Texas Attorney General has massive power to demand BP’s plans. She could do it via a subpoena-like tool called a ‘civil investigative demand.’ A similar CID to each energy company operating in the Gulf of Mexico would reveal all prior and current plans.”

“In his prompt, over-zealous defense of BP, Mr. Abbott demonstrates he will not fight for Texas, his true client. Greg Abbott should retract his foolish defense and issue Civil Investigative Demands, so we can assess past conduct, learn how to prevent similar catastrophes from occurring, and control future damage. Mr. Abbott’s two million dollars in oil and gas campaign donations blinded him to his duty: serve Texas, not British Petroleum.”