Despite the campaign rhetoric that the Obama administration is committed to excessive regulation, it finds itself without an established mechanism to govern or assess the response by BP to its statutory obligation to pay compensation for both interim and permanent losses to those who suffered losses due to the Gulf oil spill which damaged natural resources and led to widespread economic dislocations. The Times-Picayune reports: - GWC
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday selected a New York consulting and investigations firm to evaluate Kenneth Feinberg's oil spill claims process. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli sent a letter Wednesday to BDO Consulting's offices in New York and Houston urging the firm to immediately begin its review and report its findings by March.
Kenneth Feinberg at a meeting in Lafourche Parish in March.
"Where it has performed well, the people of the Gulf deserve to know that they have been fairly served," Perrelli wrote, referring to the Feinberg-run Gulf Coast Claims Facility. "Where it has fallen short, we must take appropriate steps to ensure that victims of the oil spill are fairly treated and properly compensated."
Feinberg has welcomed the independent evaluation and already agreed to pay for it. That caused Perrelli to warn BDO that it must stay "fully independent" from the GCCF. "While Mr. Feinberg has agreed that the GCCF will pay the costs associated with the review, your work will be overseen and directed by the Department of Justice," the letter said.
Firm hired to evaluate Ken Feinberg's oil spill claims process | NOLA.com:
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