Here near the peak of both football and election seasons, it seems strange for a U.S. senator from Louisiana to side with one from Alabama in a dispute in which Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration is agreeing with President Barack Obama’s. The odd bedfellows are hard to keep up with as negotiations with BP move toward a settlement of the federal case brought against it for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf. With the trial set for Jan. 14, The Wall Street Journal reports that negotiators for BP and the U.S. Justice Department are a mere $6 billion apart on settling all criminal and civil claims by the federal government and five coastal states. But the way the deal is structured could make a big difference in how much Louisiana gets compared to its sister states, and how the money can be spent. Two federal statutes govern what BP must pay in damages and fines. Indications are that federal negotiators and the Jindal administration favor giving more weight to the Natural Resources Damages Assessment process spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., along with most other coastal senators, want equal emphasis given to the Clean Water Act fines included in the RESTORE Act, which the two co-sponsored. While Texas, Mississippi and Florida have claims, the most aggrieved states are Louisiana, with the most environmental damage, and Alabama, with its economic losses. Much more so than their gridiron rivalry or bidding for a steel mill, the real competition between the two states is at the negotiating table, with BP’s bankroll the prize. Read the full column here.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
