BP is continuing to generate its own alternative universe in which it just makes shit up as it goes along. Now they are arguing that the victims of the Gulf spill should not get any more payouts connected to future losses because the economy in the Gulf region is growing by leaps and bounds, and things are so good that no one needs BP money anymore.
Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that, to the extent that portions of the Gulf economy were impacted by the spill, recovery had occurred by the end of 2010, and that positive economic performance continues into 2011, with 2011 economic metrics exceeding pre-spill performance,” the BP document said.
To back up its argument, the document notes that all commercial fisheries have re-opened, hotel industry statistics indicate strong occupancy rates and news reports on tourism venues reporting strong business.
The company is not arguing against paying out claims for documented losses. And those who feel more damages for future losses are warranted, or who are otherwise unsatisfied, can reject the final compensation offer and pursue litigation.
“Any claimant who is of the view that, notwithstanding the economic data, there is too much risk of future loss to enter a final settlement has the right to file an interim claim and seek the payment of past loss without signing a release of liability,” the BP document said.
BP says payment should end for everyone affected, except for some random future payments to oyster fishermen, and argues that Kenneth Feinberg's schedule to determine final payment already hyperinflates future losses.
BP's purported "evidence"of completely recovered fisheries (and assurances that seafood is safe to eat) is part of the argument.
However, New Orleans seafood processor Harlon Pearce says that doesn’t address the lingering effect of the spill on the seafood business.
“For someone to say we don’t have damage in the future is clearly wrong,” Pearce said. While BP comments cited evidence that Gulf Seafood is safe, Pearce said the public’s perception hasn’t caught up with that reality. He estimated his distributions are down about 25 percent and it will take years to regain the trust of consumers and a place in the national market.
Pearce, who is president of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said the board’s research indicates it took three to five years for the Alaskan seafood market to rebound after the Exxon Valdez spill, and noted a study commissioned by the board that says 75 percent of consumers around the country are still concerned about seafood safety.
Other Gulf Coast residents are floored by BP's contention that everything is back to normal.
“They go back on their word. They try to weasel out of everything they told you they’d do,” Orange Beach, Ala., Mayor Tony Kennon said.
Kennon said BP still owes Orange Beach $2.5 million for lost revenues during 2010. While the summer season is off to a good start this year, it’s too soon to say whether different sectors of the coastal economy — including lodging, restaurants, seafood, retailers and tourist attractions — have fully recovered because there’s no data yet to show whether visitors are spending as much as they once did.
West of Alabama, Mississippian Tom Becker, head of the Charter Boat Captains Association and a fisherman in Biloxi, said he is only booking about a third of the fishing trips he captained before the spill. Becker says he and other charter boat captains still believe that BP owes them money, and that the deep-sea fishing business has not come close to recovery, in addition to customers worrying that the fish caught is safe to eat.
“It hasn’t recovered,” Becker said. “I wish they wouldn’t come out with statements like that. It’s just depressing. It’s like, ‘Here we go again.’ A lot of us don’t believe that this is over with.”
Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran says she was astounded and flabbergasted when she heard the news of BP wanting to eliminate any future payments.
“While I understand BP is still committed to paying losses from last year and early 2011, there are many businesses that continue to be negatively impacted by the spill, among them the seafood industry and charter fishing,” Moran said.
Moran said it will take years to fully recover and the long-term impact on delicate ecosystems is not clear.
This next outrage comes after BP last week filed a document with the court accusing the eleven men who perished on the Deepwater Horizon of being “callous, indifferent and grossly negligent in causing this explosion.”
BP executives should rot in hell.
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