on Democracy Now last week. Take a look:
Guest:
Riki Ott, marine toxicologist and former salmon fisherma’am in Alaska. She is author of “Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Spill.”
snip* AMY GOODMAN: Riki Ott, interestingly BP may not be liable for more than $75 million. Under the law called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Operators of the offshore rig face no more than $75 million in liability for the damages that might be claimed by individuals, companies, or the government. Although they are responsible for the cost of containing and cleaning-up the spill.
RIKI OTT: This will be the first time that the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is really put to test. So, we’re kind of a little bit in cold water here, but what we know is that the industry does everything it can to limit its liability. I am sure that this happened also to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. So, we’ll see how this plays out. But, the people should not count, even though the President is saying, “We will make sure BP pays,” BP is going to pay to the extent that it is made to pay by law. And these big corporations, they help write our laws and they help elect our Congress people that pass the laws. So, we’re kind of playing on a very stacked deck.
AMY GOODMAN: Riki Ott, we want to thank you for being with us. We’re going to check back with you as you travel through the Gulf. Riki Ott is headed there today or tomorrow. Riki Ott, marine toxicologist and former salmon fisherma’am is author of Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Spill. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. When we come back, we’ll be joined by the author Isabel Allende. Her first novel in four years is just out. Stay with us.
in full:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/3/bp_oil_spill_worsens_with_no