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Just in case I have not made it clear by the end of this article, let me start by saying that I despise the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, I am giving BP (LSE:BP.) a one-man standing ovation (which is hard to do whilst one is typing).
On Monday this week, 12 August 2013, BP filed a lawsuit against the EPA in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The suit seeks relief from the EPA’s imposition of judgment against 21 BP affiliates, ordering that they not be allowed to participate in any federal contracts. I realize that different people are going to see this from different perspectives, but I’m telling you that this could be one of the most significant court cases in U.S. history. I personally believe that the court will grant BP the relief that it is seeking, but ultimately, I also believe that this case could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
What makes this case so historic is that BP is standing up for its rights against a bully arm of the U.S. government of Hitleresque proportions. Don’t sit there in the UK, or anywhere else in the world, and think that the EPA is a bureau of tree huggers. It is the pit bull pet of the liberal Democratic Party that has been given unprecedented authority under the Obama administration to use the Clean Water Act as a hammer to pound businesses and U.S. local governments into submission, the likes of which the U.S. has never seen before.
It all sounds so pristine – “environmental protection” and “clean water.” Don’t judge a book by its cover. This is an organization of thugs and pseudo-intellectuals who are using billions of taxpayer dollars to threaten and then to “punish” anyone who stands in their way.
I have watched the EPA drain city treasuries and I have watched city councils incur the wrath of their citizenry because they had been compelled to increase – in some cases double or triple – water and sewer rates under threat of million dollar lawsuits by the EPA. Every time, the threats come under the banner of the Clean Water Act.
One of the problems with the EPA is that it is staffed by bureaucrats and engineers who have their heads stuffed so far up their butts that they can see out their ears. These are people who know the letter of the law, but who don’t have a lick of sense – or understanding or compassion. They have been empowered to enforce some of the most ridiculous laws ever written since Hammurabi’s first attempt in kindergarten.
Well, it looks like the EPA has finally discovered someone who is willing and powerful enough to stand up to them and their strong-armed tactics. Given the size of BP, it’s hard to call it a David and Goliath story, but it is, nonetheless, the story of one company that is not going to let this band of “Obama Oppressors” intimidate it. It’s time someone stood up. That someone is BP. CEO Robert Dudley took a shot across the EPA’s bow, saying “We want everyone to know that we are digging and well prepared for the long haul on legal matters.”
Say what you will about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that is the impetus for this EPA punch in the gut. I am personally tired of hearing it commonly referred to as an “oil spill.” It was first and foremost an accidental explosion that took the lives of 11 men. But the EPA is not concerned about those men or their families. It’s concerned with punishing BP, not for the spill, but for what it calls “a lack of business integrity.”
In the filing, BP said,
“BP immediately accepted responsibility for its role in the accident and promptly implemented numerous remedial and corrective measures to improve its operations and prevent a similar occurrence. As a result, the federal government [has] continued to do business with BP.”
“The EPA’s decision to suspend did not address the overwhelming evidence and record of BP’s present responsibility as a government contractor and leaseholder, and did not attempt to explain how or why immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public interest, as federal law requires.”
“The EPA had long known of the events and conduct alleged to be the basis for suspension and, despite this, spent several months in the summer and fall of 2012 negotiating an administrative Agreement with BP to resolve any and all potential suspension and debarment issues. EPA also chose to suspend Plaintiffs even though EPA knew that nearly all of the suspended BP entities had no involvement in the Deepwater Horizon accident or its aftermath.”
“We believe that the EPA’s action here is inappropriate and unjustified as a matter of law and policy, and we are pursuing our right to seek relief in federal court. At the same time, we remain open to a reasonable settlement with the EPA.”
Nobody – I mean NOBODY – needs to be treated the way the EPA does. Not even giants of industry. I’m behind BP all the way on this one.
