Earthjustice, an environmental law firm, and New Orleans’ Waltzer & Wiygul filed suit in federal court on Tuesday against the federal agency. The suit — Gulf Restoration Network and Sierra Club v. Salazar — charges that the agency violated federal law by exempting oil companies that drill in the Gulf of Mexico from disclosing blowout and worst case spill scenarios as well as plans for dealing with them before approving the companies’ offshore drilling plans.
For the BP Deepwater Horizon exploration plan, the Minerals Management Service, according to the suit, had issued notices to the oil companies that they did not have to comply with the blowout and worst case oil spill rules. The agency also failed to analyze the potential environmental impact of a blowout and spill as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
