On Monday, July 5, 2010, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are washing up on Texas shores. On Tuesday, July 6, 2010, Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, issued a request for BP (British Petroleum) to provide Texas with $25 million for the clean-up efforts. According to Abbott, “While we do not yet know, and cannot yet calculate, the ultimate damage this ecological and economic disaster will inflict upon the State of Texas, we do know that BP will be held fully financially accountable for the costs incurred by the taxpayers when state and local governments engage in clean-up and response efforts.” This is good news for Texans; we should not have to pay to clean up BP’s mess.
AG Abbott said that his office had been assured by BP, repeatedly, that it will cover any Texas clean-up efforts. Abbott apparently decided that he wanted something in writing and Abbott made the formal request on Tuesday morning to BP General Counsel Jack Lynch. Additionally, AG Abbott has also requested that the federal government open claims offices in Texas for BP’s $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims fund. According to Abbott, he is “confident that claims offices will be opened in the State of Texas in the next few weeks.” This is good news too, as many local businesses have been catastrophically damaged by BP’s negligence.