Breaking:
"The first criminal charges in connection with the BP oil spill have been filed in Houston, Texas against a former BP engineer named Kurt Mix," NPR's Carrie Johnson reports exclusively.
Carrie just told our Newscast unit that Mix has been charged with obstruction of justice for deleting text messages after the spill. The texts were related to the amount of oil gushing onto the Gulf. Mix will make his first appearence in court today.
Carrie adds that there has been an expectation that criminal charges would be brought against individuals, but this is the first person charged since the spill happened two years ago.
NPR
More as the story develops....
Note: NPR has now changed their title to "Government Files First Criminal Charges In BP Oil Spill"- Bold added.
Background
How the BP oil spill hurt the Gulf
Two years after the BP drilling rig exploded and triggered the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, some scientists and residents say they are starting to see signs of environmental damage in fish and other marine life in the Gulf Coast – which is a vital part of the local economy. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., discusses.
Two years later, fish sick near BP oil site
BARATARIA BAY, La. (AP) — Open sores. Parasitic infections. Chewed-up-looking fins. Gashes. Mysterious black streaks. Two years after the drilling-rig explosion that touched off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, scientists are beginning to suspect that fish in the Gulf of Mexico are suffering the effects of the petroleum.
The evidence is nowhere near conclusive. But if those suspicions prove correct, it could mean that the environmental damage to the Gulf from the BP disaster is still unfolding and the picture isn't as rosy as it might have seemed just a year ago.
And the damage may extend well beyond fish. In the past year, research has emerged showing deep-water coral, seaweed beds, dolphins, mangroves and other species of plants and animals are suffering.
Too Few Lessons Learned in Two Years
Two years ago, an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling platform killed 11 workers and marked the beginning of a prolonged environmental disaster now acknowledged as the worst in American history. Before the Macondo well was finally capped, more than two hundred million gallons of crude oil had gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, killing untold thousands of birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and other marine mammals. The spill also devastated the fishing and tourism economies of the Gulf's coastal communities.
Nothing we say or do now can erase that tragedy. But our actions today can still make a profound difference for the future of both the Gulf region and the rest of our nation. First, we must do everything we can to "make it right." That requires holding BP and other responsible parties fully accountable for the restoration of the Gulf waters and coastal ecosystems, as well as for the complete recovery of the region's coastal communities. Second, we must heed the painfully obvious lesson of the Deepwater Horizon disaster: If we cannot curb our national addiction to oil, we'll see more oil spills again and again, for decades to come.
Although damage claims from individuals and businesses against BP were settled for approximately $7.8 billion, we are still waiting for a comprehensive settlement for economic damages to the Gulf's communities and for the devastation of its natural resources. That settlement will need to be large enough both to support long-term recovery of the Gulf and to serve as a deterrent that can help prevent future disasters.
10:02 AM PT: http://www.bloomberg.com/...
A former BP Plc (BP/) engineer, Kurt Mix, was arrested today on charges of intentionally destroying evidence requested by U.S. criminal authorities investigating 2010’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Justice Department said.
10:06 AM PT: http://www.justice.gov/...
According to court documents, Mix was a drilling and completions project engineer for BP. Following the blowout, Mix worked on internal BP efforts to estimate the amount of oil leaking from the well and was involved in various efforts to stop the leak. Those efforts included, among others, Top Kill, the failed BP effort to pump heavy mud into the blown out wellhead to try to stop the oil flow. BP sent numerous notices to Mix requiring him to retain all information concerning Macondo, including his text messages.
On or about Oct. 4, 2010, after Mix learned that his electronic files were to be collected by a vendor working for BP’s lawyers, Mix allegedly deleted on his iPhone a text string containing more than 200 text messages with a BP supervisor. The deleted texts, some of which were recovered forensically, included sensitive internal BP information collected in real-time as the Top Kill operation was occurring, which indicated that Top Kill was failing. Court documents allege that, among other things, Mix deleted a text he had sent on the evening of May 26, 2010, at the end of the first day of Top Kill. In the text, Mix stated, among other things, “Too much flowrate – over 15,000.” Before Top Kill commenced, Mix and other engineers had concluded internally that Top Kill was unlikely to succeed if the flow rate was greater than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). At the time, BP’s public estimate of the flow rate was 5,000 BOPD – three times lower than the minimum flow rate indicated in Mix’s text.
In addition, on or about Aug. 19, 2011, after learning that his iPhone was about to be imaged by a vendor working for BP’s outside counsel, Mix allegedly deleted a text string containing more than 100 text messages with a BP contractor with whom Mix had worked on various issues concerning how much oil was flowing from the Macondo well after the blowout. By the time Mix deleted those texts, he had received numerous legal hold notices requiring him to preserve such data and had been communicating with a criminal defense lawyer in connection with the pending grand jury investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
10:22 AM PT: The Justice Department says if Mix is convicted of the charges he faces a maximum penalty of 20 yeas in jail and a $250,000 fine for each of the two counts of obstruction of justice.
11:24 AM PT: http://www.justice.gov/...
Clearly indicates BP misleading public re:Top Kill and it's chances. See 12 to 16 in the resources PDF
11:32 AM PT: http://fuelfix.com/...
Some of the deleted texts were “recovered forensically,” the government says, including one sent the evening of May 26, 2010, after the first day of the top kill attempt. In that message, Mix reported that the well was flowing at the rate of more than 15,000 barrels a day, at a time when the company’s public estimate was 5,000 barrels a day, according to the Justice Department news release. The release said BP engineers had concluded internally that the top kill would fail if the flow were greater than 15,000 barrels per day.