Abstract
The BP Oil Spill of 2010 was one of the largest in history. Although the lessons of the BP Spill are most immediately relevant to the United States, they have broader implications for Brazil and other countries. It is no secret that the regulatory system functioned poorly in the era before the spill, providing little incentive for industry to exercise care. Post-spill reforms should be an improvement. The U.S. government took the spill seriously and sought major penalties. These penalties are measured in billions of dollars. In the meantime, a multi-billion dollar class action settlement has also resulted from the spill. Actions to recover for harm to natural resources and ecosystems are still in preparation. Hopefully, the lessons learned from this deplorable event will be instructive not only for the United States but for other nations such as Brazil that are involved in deepwater oil drilling. Keywords: Environmental Law, Disaster Law, oil drilling.
Highlights
The BP Oil Spill of 2010 was one of the largest in history
Concerns have been expressed about the risk assessments used for drilling operations offshore of Brazil
The sheer scale of such events presents unique challenges in terms of post-disaster legal consequences, and the potential for such a mega-spill may require a thorough reconsideration of the adequacy of regulatory safety measures. After this introduction,this article begins in Part II by describing the BP spill and its impact on the U.S Gulf Coast
Summary
The BP Oil Spill of 2010 was one of the largest in history. It has already given rise to an extensive legal literature and, as we will see, extensive litigation. The post-spill developments have useful implications about how to structure risk regulation to prevent future spills as much as possible.The litigation sheds light on the question of how to compensate spill victims efficiently and fairly. The sheer scale of such events presents unique challenges in terms of post-disaster legal consequences, and the potential for such a mega-spill may require a thorough reconsideration of the adequacy of regulatory safety measures. After this introduction,this article begins in Part II by describing the BP spill and its impact on the U.S Gulf Coast. The lessons learned from this deplorable event will be instructive for the United States but for other nations such as Brazil that are involved in deepwater oil drilling
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