Friday, July 09, 2010
Despite causing the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, BP is still doing business as usual with the Department of Defense, supplying 80% of the fuel for the American military. Although most of the contracts for the fuel sales were signed before the April 20 accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pentagon did sign a new agreement with BP after the company’s well began hemorrhaging millions of gallons of oil into the ocean.
The gulf mess was not the first time that BP has gotten into trouble with the federal government. According to the Project on Government Oversight, BP is tops in the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, with 52 cases of misconduct since 1995. The company has paid $1.6 billion in fines and settlements for its bad behavior, including the March 23, 2005, explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery that killed 15 people and injured 170.
BP has been so bad that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year considered “debarring” the company, which would have threatened its lucrative deals with the Defense Department. But the Pentagon allegedly stepped in and pressured EPA not to proceed with its action.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Debarment for BP? Don't Be Fuel-ish! (Project on Government Oversight)
Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (Project on Government Oversight)
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