BP Tries Again to Sidestep GoM Spill Payments
BP Plc has asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to allow the company to avoid making payments to businesses demanding compensation for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill while litigation continues. The company acted after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction earlier in the day that had prevented payments being made. Last week, the court had decided not to revisit a decision rejecting BP's bid to block payments to businesses that could not trace their economic losses to the disaster. Judge Scalia, who has responsibility for emergency applications arising from the 5th Circuit, can either act on BP's request himself or refer the matter to the nine-member court as a whole. There is no specific deadline by which the court must act.
US Top Court Upholds Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Barack Obama a victory on Tuesday by upholding a federal environmental regulation requiring some states to limit pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states. By a 6-2 vote, the court said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted reasonably in requiring 28 states to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which can lead to soot and smog. Writing for the majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the EPA rule a cost-effective way to allocate responsibility for emission reductions among upwind states, and that the EPA need not consider each state's proportionate responsibility for the emissions in question.
Scalia to Address CGA Corps of Cadets
The Honorable Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, is scheduled to speak at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy March 18, as the 2014 Hedrick Fellow. Justice Scalia will address the corps of cadets in Leamy Hall Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., in an event that is open to the public. Justice Scalia was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and is currently the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court. He took his seat on the Court, Sept. 26, 1986. The purpose of the Hedrick Fellow program is to bring world-renowned political, military, and industry leaders to the Academy to share their knowledge and insight with cadets and faculty, and provide an opportunity for the Coast Guard’s future leaders to learn from the experiences of America's most distinguished leaders.
