The "oversight" committee created by the Louisiana legislature doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about doing much of anything that might actually help BP's victims. Louisiana politicians seem content to consider their state to be the private property of big oil, BP included. Comments from BP were apparently welcome at their meeting but not those of BP's victims.
BATON ROUGE — Although three satellite offices will be shuttered by month’s end, representatives from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility told lawmakers Monday that claims related to last year’s oil spill will be accepted until August 2013.
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There are a dozen satellite offices statewide, but Matthew F. Block of Thibodaux, who serves as counsel for the GCCF, said three are being closed due to slowing traffic.
The offices in Morgan City, Grand Isle and Lafitte will no longer be in operation as of May 31. The branches in Houma and Cut Off will remain open.
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While the news stirred little emotion by members of the Joint Select Committee on Oversight of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, created earlier this year by legislative leaders, local lawmakers were quick to criticize the plan.
Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma, told Gambit magazine of New Orleans in an online interview that the decision will be a “travesty,” especially since many claims originating in these areas will still be pending action at the end of the month.
“The BP people should be knocking on doors to help people, not closing down the office that’s set up to help them,” Chabert said.
Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, whose district includes Terrebonne Parish, said the new legislative committee, which he chairs, was created to “expedite legitimate claims.”
It’s Monday meeting was its first, but another is already scheduled for May 31 at 1 p.m. at the state Capitol.
While the meeting is open, public comments will not be accepted. Harrison said that type of venue could be coming soon and the committee is considering a regular Monday meeting schedule after Memorial Day passes.
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“This continues to be a work in progress,” Block said. “I don’t believe it is a thing where there are a lot of claims just sitting out there waiting to be looked at.”
Harrison countered that the numbers, on the surface, offer few explanations for the complaints he has heard from coastal residents about the process.
He also requested a variety of information for future meetings, ranging from copies of the forms claimants file to a rundown of reasons why claims are dismissed.
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Some farther away from the coast are receiving assistance before coastal residents.
For example, Mark Matthews, owner of Superior Bait and Tackle in Baton Rouge, said in an earlier interview that he has thus far recovered 80 percent of his 2010 losses from the claims process.
He admitted it wasn’t easy.
“You had to be very calm, very tactful, event though sometimes it was hard to be,” Matthews said. “You just made sure every 24 hours you emailed, sent a certified letter or contacted them on the phone.”
There are contrasting stories to tell, like that of Houma’s Kim Chauvin, who has three vessels and a processing outfit under the banner of the Mariah Jade Shrimp Company.
Chauvin said her company initially lost roughly 60 percent of its sales following the April 20 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig and eventually 99 percent as the oil flowed freely.
Of all the challenges, paperwork towers over them all — so much so that it has taken away from the little work that is available, she said.
“I don’t think people in BP’s workforce can even really understand that part of it because they work for a company,” Chauvin said. ”You know, having your own company and watching it diminish day by day, that’s a tough one.”
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A related area of interest for the committee was GCCF’s appeal process.
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Lawmakers were also briefed on what happens to claimants when there is any kind of final settlement. In short, they’re prohibited from collecting on any other claims or damages — with the exception of someone with both a property and injury claim in the system.
This was a major concern for Rep. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, coming into the session, which is why he introduced legislation to make “null, void and unenforceable” all settlements and releases executed by BP that in turn let the energy giant off the hook for any future medical care or related benefits. House Bill 389 targets any latent illness or disease medically proven to be caused by the BP oil spill.
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House Natural Resources Chairman Gordon Dove, R-Houma, says he’s opposed to the bill due its retroactive nature and even Connick said the bill is unlikely to move this session.
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In the same vein, Rep. Jerry Gisclair, D-Larose, filed a resolution urging the state Department of Health and Hospitals to “investigate any health conditions suffered by responders to the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and provide direction for the long-term health care of these individuals.”
He said offshore vessel crews, shoreline cleanup workers and other early responders spent significant amounts of time on the water and are now facing long-term health problems.
They were subjected to multiple substances and chemical mixtures, including raw and weathered crude oil, dispersants and combustion by-products, according to the resolution.
Since the federal government is just now beginning a 10-year, long-term health impact study, Gisclair said he may put his resolution on hold.
