Example Complaint Under CERCLA for Natural Resource Damages (United States v. BP, No. CV-04536 (D. La. Dec. 15, 2010))

• Author: Valerie Ann Lee/P.J. Bridgen
• Pages: 265-291

Example Complaint Under CERCLA for Natural Resource Damages Page 265

UN ITE D S TA TES DI STR ICT CO URT

EAS TERN DIS TRICT OF LO UIS IANA

UN ITE D S TA TES OF AM ERICA ,

Plai ntif f,

v.

BP EXP LORA TIO N & PROD UC TIO N I NC .,

AN AD ARKO EX PLO RATIO N &

PRO DUCT ION LP, AN ADAR KO

PET ROLEU M COR PORATIO N, M OEX

OFF SHORE 2007 L LC, TR ITON A SSET

LEA SING G MBH, TR AN SOC EAN

HO LDI NG S L LC, TR AN SOC EAN

OFF SHORE DEEP WA TER DRILL ING IN C.,

TRA NSOCEAN DEEP WA TE R IN C., AN D

QBE U ND ERW RITIN G L TD ., LLOY D’S

SYN DICAT E 1036 ,

Def end ants .

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Civ il N o.

IN A DMIR ALT Y

CO MP LA INT OF THE U NITED

STA TES O F A MERI CA

Sec tion :

Mag istrate No. :

Plai ntif f, th e Unite d S tates of Am eric a, a lleg es u pon inf orm atio n a nd b elie f as

foll ows :

Case 2:10-cv-04536 Document 1 Filed 12/15/10 Page 1 of 27

Page 266 Natural Resource Damage Assessment Deskbook

NA TUR E OF TH E A CT ION

1. This civ il a ctio n ar ises fro m one o f th e w orst env ironmen tal disa ster s in

American h isto ry: t he o il sp ill into the Gul f of Me xico tha t began on Apr il 2 0, 2 010 ,

whe n e xplo sio ns a nd fire s de stro yed the M obile O ffshor e Dr illin g Rig ( “MODU”)

Dee pwa ter Hor izon ap pro xima tely 50 m iles fro m the M ississip pi R iver del ta (t he

“De epw ater Ho rizo n Spill” ). E leven p eop le a boa rd the rig lo st their live s; m any othe r

men and women we re in jured. Oil flow ed into the Gu lf o f M exico u nch eck ed f or m onths.

Ulti mately, t he “ Ma con do W ell” w as f inal ly se aled on Sep tem ber 19, 201 0, n earl y fiv e

mon ths afte r the bl owo ut bega n. B y that ti me, mill ions of bar rels of o il had b een

disc har ged into the Gu lf a nd upo n ad join ing sho reli nes, cau sing im men se e nvi ronm ental

and eco nom ic harm to t he e ntire re gion.

2. Whi le the f ull scop e and i mpa ct o f th is d isas ter a re not ye t known , the

con sequ ences i nclu de lost live s, d estr oyed liv elih oods, an d g rave harm t o na tura l

reso urc es a cros s se ver al S tate s an d re late d w ater s. T he spill necess itat ed a go vern ment

resp ons e un precede nted in size , du rati on, and expense.

3. As a res ult, the Un ited Sta tes has sust ained, a nd will con tinu e to sus tain ,

sign ific ant costs an d d ama ges . The U nited S tate s th us s eek s in this act ion a decla rati on

that the De fend ants are res pon sibl e an d strictl y lia ble for unli mited r emo val costs an d

dam age s un der the Oil Po lluti on A ct of 1 990 .

4. Fed eral law als o im pos es c ivil pen alti es, u nder th e Cl ean Water A ct, against

thos e w ho unla wfully d ischarg e oil int o an d u pon the nav igable w aters o f th e U nite d

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Case 2:10-cv-04536 Document 1 Filed 12/15/10 Page 2 of 27