Start the administrative and civil penalty process immediately; apply the fines to compensate the people of the Gulf Coast.
There's a very good reason BP doesn't want accurate discharge measurements: a $1,000/barrel EPA fine for oil discharges under §4301(b) of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), enacted after the Exxon Valdez spill two decades ago. Discharge estimates run from 6,000 barrels a day to 60,000. Do the math - BP's 2009 revenues were $239 billion (at 31 Dec 2009), with a reported replacement cost profit of $6 billion. Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that the US Government may end up owning BP . . .
MORE
Oil Pollution Act Overview | Emergency Management | US EPA
The OPA also created the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, ... §4301(a) and (c) The fine for failing to notify the appropriate Federal agency of a ... at $25000 for each day of violation or subsection (b) $1000 per barrel of oil discharged.
http://www.epa.gov/... - Cached
Add triple damages for "gross negligence or willful misconduct." http://books.google.com/...
If the company was forced to pay out under §4301(b), we own it, lock stock and every barrel of toxic sludge in the BP inventory, along with all that red goo floating on, under, and onto the beaches and marshes of the Gulf of Mexico.
I think we should begin collecting that fine immediately, in full, and start distributing it to the people of the Gulf adversely impacted, in real time. Place a lien on BP's assets, and begin . . . liquidation. Now, not in a couple years.
Oh, yes, and then there are the potential 15-year prison sentences for BP executives under the OPA . . .
Please, see, Sec. C, Penalties, a useful legal discussion of the topic, here: http://www.blankrome.com/...