It has been four years since the pristine waters of Grand Isle, LA was tarnished by what is now known as the Deepwater Horizon spill. Four years later, residents of the area are now fed up with BP, who claims that the crisis on the island is over.
Only one oyster fisherman remains on the island. Jules Melancon has said he has not found a single oyster alive in his fishing grounds since the leak. He added that compensation for his losses has been paid unevenly, with lawyers getting the larger chunk of the cash awards.
For its part, BP had already paid out compensation to residents such as Melancon amounting to the billions of dollars. Many legal experts say the settlement agreement is a landmark case in itself, for its breadth of coverage of the damages admitted and paid for by the British oil firm.
While some of the claimants have been satisfied, other such as Melancon are seething with anger, especially now that BP is challenging many of the provisions of the settlement agreement. This group also take exception to the portrayal of BP in the disaster as well as the consequences of the oil rig explosion.
Melancon said, "They have an advert on TV saying they fixed the Gulf but I've never been fixed." He has been compensated by BP but says the sum provided did not cover all his losses.
Under the settlement, as reported on Reuters, claims for lost income or property damage for those individuals and those with large businesses, as there are detailed records as to the value of the property. This has not been the case in smaller firms or even start ups or backyard industries, since they don't have detailed accounting.
As for Melancon, he said his claim for economic damage was denied since many of his transactions were done on a cash basis. While he has been offered a million dollars as compensation, he maintains he lost over six times that value. He further said he received just $400,000 of the money he claims he was allotted as compensation.
