Newswise — Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Cornell University Professor of Law and an expert in environmental law, comments on the liability facing BP as a result of the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
He says:
“BP is facing massive environmental liability. Exxon paid billions to governments and individuals from the Exxon Valdez spill decades ago, and environmental law has only become more strict since then.
“The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed in response to the Exxon Valdez spill, imposes liability on anyone responsible for any discharge of oil into the ocean for all costs associated with cleanup and damage to natural resources. The statute offers few viable defenses, none of which apply to the current situation. Although litigation over the spill is apt to stretch on as far as the spill itself, the liability that BP now confronts is apt to be enormous.”
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