BP charged with 29 violations since 1999

Pleaded guilty and paid fines in all of them. Here is a partial list of some of the offenses.

Unsafe working environment
Clear air act violations
Underpayment of oil royalties
Illegal disposal of hazardous waste
Exposing employees to explosion hazards
Conspiracy to manipulate the propane market
Alaska pipeline leaks
Texas City refinery explosion
Delays in installing leak detection systems
Leaking underground tanks and ground contamination (separately)
All the gory details here.

In all, they paid a little over $1.2 billion dollars in fines in that time. It seems a lot but not when their revenue was $258 billion last year with a net after tax profit of $20 billion. The fines paid average out to $120 million a year which is 0.6% of their profits last year. The fines for doing all the above are merely the cost of doing business. Lax enforcement through the Bush years let them get away with fines just being part of the ledger.

According to the current Oil Pollution Act, BP's liability is capped at #75 million. There is a #1.6 billion oil industry trust fund they can tap into but $75 million is A joke. They have already tried running around the Gulf Cost offering $5,000 in total damages to those affected by the spill. There were no takers and the Governor's of the affected states, to their credit, ran them out of town as quickly as they could. There is currently a bill being co-sponsored by Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Nelson (D-FL) to raise that cap to $10 billion. In any event if gross negligence is found the $75 million cap is waived.

Expect BP to fight all the way with the best team of lawyers money can buy. It took years to resolve the legal battles from the Exxon Valdez spill. Lawyers on both sides will be very well rewarded and everyone else will have to wait.

BP has spent the same $75 million that is their current liability on lobbyists in the last 6 years. It's been their best investment by far, but then with two former oil men running the country their job was made easy. We still don't know what was discussed or decided at the secret meetings Cheney had with the energy companies in early 2001.

The same theme of lax oversight runs through the financial collapse, the coal mining disaster and the Deep Horizon spill. If Obama is to leave a lasting legacy part of it should be that enforcement is far more vigorous and it has more teeth. It is obvious that too many corporations have no intent to be 'good citizens' and if more enforcement and stiffer penalties are needed so be it.