ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20054
No(s). 2179 (E. D. La. Feb 29, 2012) (Barbier, J.)

A district court held that BP and Anadarko Petroleum are responsible parties under OPA for pollution stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster and subject to civil penalties under the CWA, but that issues remain as to whether Transocean can be held liable under the CWA. BP and Anadarko co-owned the drilling well and co-leased the area in which the disaster occurred, and Transocean owned and operated the mobile offshore drilling unit. Because the drilling unit was being used not as a vessel but as an offshore facility at the time of the incident, and because BP and Anadarko were the lessees of the unit, they are responsible parties under the OPA with regard to the discharge of oil that occurred beneath the surface of the water. In addition, because BP and Anadarko were owners of the offshore facility from which the oil discharged, they are liable for civil penalties under CWA §311(b)(7). Transocean, however, is not a responsible party under OPA for the discharge. Nevertheless, a question remains as to whether it would be an "operator" or "person in charge" of the offshore facility under CWA §311(b)(7). The court, therefore, could not resolve this issue on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment.