BP's efforts to cut off the riser pipe and install a collection cap over its blown out deepwater oil well hit complications Wednesday -- a stuck saw. But the effort continues. Meanwhile, the area of coastline affected expanded beyond Louisiana to Alabama and Mississippi and soon possibly Florida.
Deepwater Horizon explosion survivors were detained at sea for 36 to 40 hours and prevented from talking to families or going home until they signed two statements, one that they'd not been injured and the other that they'd not witnessed the explosion.
Workers in the "Vessels of Opportunity" Gulf spill cleanup program had to sign a contract prohibiting them from talking to the news media or disclosing "proprietary and confidential" information.
Anne Womack Kolton, who as former VP Dick Cheney's press aide defended the secrecy of his energy task force, has been brought in to fix BP's PR problems in the Gulf oil spill.
Dispersant manufacturer Nalco failed to disclose the chemical identity of the ingredients to the news media or public, and ignored a US EPA order to stop using the product in the Gulf.
US EPA withheld information, and twice during the five-day operation BP cut off the mud pumps for long periods without letting the public know, making statements that left the impression the operation was ongoing.
The WatchDog's special Gulf oil spill issue includes stories on media access problems, withholding of information by US EPA and misleading statements by BP, mystery dispersant ingredients, BP's new ex-Cheney spokesperson, prohibiting cleanup workers talking to media, and detaining rig survivors till they sign two statements.
"The spill doesn't put a damper on the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival, where at least 1,000 people showed up for good eats and good times. A portion of the proceeds will go toward needy fishermen."
After years of being written off as a putrid eyesore, the Chicago River is now slated for cleanup by the Obama EPA.
Some 30 energy companies are off the hook for now. "So many members of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals have recused themselves from a rehearing of a lawsuit that charges energy companies with contributing to the effects of Hurricane Katrina by emitting greenhouse gases that the court cannot conduct the rehearing."
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