BP is not entitled to access email interactions between the top U.S. Government officials and the White House during the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a Department of Justice attorney says in a court filing.

If the documents are released, that will freeze the candid and open discussion of internal ideas, strategies and opinions among government lawmakers during a future disaster similar to the BP oil spill, the court filing by Gregory Woods, the General Counsel for the Energy Department, said.

According to Woods, the Department of Energy has already produced around 169,000 documents BP had requested as part of the Gulf oil spill litigation. However, 28 emails are privileged interactions and for that reason off-limits. BP wants 21 of those mails to be examined by a federal judge to find out if they can be used to defend the litigation filed against the company by the United States.

New court-appointed administrator of BP oil spill compensation claims fund Patrick Juneau started his 4-state tour of 18 offices with a strong message. Juneau says they are not from BP Plc or the federal government and they just want to help.

The tour started on Monday, the day from which the oil spill victims can start filing claims under a negotiated settlement in March. The settlement is expected to cost the oil giant approximately $7.8 billion.

The victims whose claims were rejected previously by BP’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) also can apply for compensation with the new claims processing system.

Rep. Steve Scalise is asking policymakers to discard a plan that would permit the Legislature to pass on BP oil spill fines to projects not at all related to Gulf Coast restoration. Scalise says all the money from Deepwater Horizon spill should be directed to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund of the state.

“BP oil spill fines should be dedicated to the states across the Gulf coast. That money should be spent only to restore the Gulf Coast and the ecological and financial damage made by the oil spill disaster. That is why we battled so strongly to devote the oil spill fines to the Gulf States,” Scalise said.

Scalise said the Legislature has to clarify that the RESTORE Act money won’t be spent for unrelated purposes.

Representatives and Senators are presently forming the RESTORE Act’s final version, which will give an outline for distributing the BP fines to the Gulf Coast states.

New Orleans – A consortium formed following the April 2010 BP oil spill for developing techniques containing deepwater spills is to conduct a live drill this summer using its new equipment.

According to Ken Salazar, the Interior Secretary, the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) will perform the drill to understand how to drop stacking caps over a blown-out oil well and how to they could be safely used to cap a blowout.

The consortium believes the equipment can be used to prevent offshore oil spills in the future.

MWCC has to shift a capping stack to the Gulf seabed from its onshore base, according to the Interior Department.

Department of Natural Resources (DNR) researchers have discovered proof for the presence of oil cleanup chemicals and petroleum compounds in Minnesota pelicans’ eggs.

Almost 90 percent of the eggs tested contained petroleum compounds, whereas 80 percent of the samples indicated the presence of Corexit, a dispersant used for breaking up spilled oil. Corexit as well as petroleum compounds are hazardous. The can cause birth defects and fatal diseases like cancer even in small doses.

Usually pelicans stay in the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and Texas in winters.

Ecologist Mark Clark said any pollutant in bird is bad, particularly if the egg is tampered with.

Baton Rouge – Measures to make sure penalties from the April 2010 BP oil spill go towards coastal safety and to necessitate the state pay its contract automatically with New Orleans for expenses relating to Harrah’s Casino is moving forward.

House Bill 812 is to allow voters to determine whether to devote penalties linked to Gulf oil spill to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. This constitutional amendment has got unanimous approval from the House. Now it should be approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

According to officials, BP will possibly be fined around $1000 for each of the millions of barrels of crude released into the Gulf. It can be increased as much as $4000 if the accident is proves to be the result of BP’s gross negligence.

One day after a former BP executive Kurt Mix submitted documents in a United States District Court that he believes will prove his innocence, the judge overseeing the case recused herself. Mix had been accused of deleting important text messages mentioning the real estimated size of the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Federal Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo issued an order Tuesday declaring herself disqualified under sections of law that necessitate a judge to move out from a proceeding if it might question his/her impartiality or if it meets certain disqualifying circumstances.

However, the order issued by Triche-Milazzo doesn’t specify the provision applied in her case. Now the case has been assigned to federal Judge Stanwood Duval Jr.

Lawyers for a former BP Plc. engineer charged for allegedly deleting messages regarding the estimated size of April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico said an unspecified third party has proof for his innocence.

The lawyers representing Kurt Mix said the proof is protected under the legal concept of ‘attorney-client privilege’. The attorneys said Mix has not obstructed justice by removing evidence.

The attorneys for the 50-year-old Katy man are seeking the evidence to be disclosed. Mix, the first and only person arrested so far on BP oil spill-related criminal charges, has pleaded not guilty to the allegations against him.

The Palmetto city is about to join many others who are suing BP over the devastating April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Palmetto is an attractive little town, surrounded by lovely sights of the Manatee River. Though the city lawmakers promote the region as a historic and gorgeous city, it is not at all a major tourist place in Manatee County.

But numerous snowbirds stay in Palmetto, and many of them didn’t return because of the worst offshore oil spill in the U.S. history.

City Attorney Mark Barnebey said it will take time to see what the impacts are.

“The main areas we have been possibly affected are sales tax and property taxes. We are still evaluating it,” Barnebey said.

Right now, it is not clear how much the city is seeking. According to city leaders, everyone in the city will be benefited if they get something.

The lawsuit will be filed within a few days.

Some photos published Monday display startling view of the injuries suffered by Gulf of Mexico marine life after the April 2010 BP oil spill.

The images were provided to Greenpeace, the world’s largest self-governing direct-action environmental organization, by the federal government. There are images of sperm whales traveling through oil slick and sea turtles wrapped in brown slush.

The April 2010 disaster had spewed around 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf shores until it was ultimately capped after 3 months.

John Hocevar, the ocean campaigns director of Greenpeace, said the images portraits a different picture of the Deepwater Horizon spill. The images include garbage bags containing deceased sea turtles.

According to Greenpeace, it received the images after a request submitted in 2010. The environmental organization got the photos through the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).