National Digest: Oct. 4, 2015
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Version 0 of 1. The public is about to get a look at details of an $18 billion settlement agreement announced in July to resolve years of legal fighting over damage done by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. A statement from the U.S. Justice Department says the agreement involving the federal government, five gulf states and BP Exploration and Production will be filed Monday. That will be followed by a 60-day public comment period, the next step toward final court approval. The settlement would end battles over economic and environmental damage done by the nearly 134 million gallons of oil that spilled. The spill followed the April 2010 explosion on an offshore rig that killed 11 workers. This year’s government settlement comes after a 2012 settlement between BP and people and businesses harmed by the spill. That settlement has resulted in $5.84 billion in payouts, according to a report filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The proposed settlement announced in July came after U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that BP had been “grossly negligent” in the accident, a ruling that set up the oil giant for large Clean Water Act fines. Terms outlined when the proposed settlement was announced call for BP to pay $5.5 billion in Clean Water Act penalties — lower than the $13.7 billion penalty BP was facing in an ongoing case. But the company would also have to pay $7.1 billion to fix natural resource damage along with close to $5 billion more for the states to settle economic and other claims. Payments are to be spread over as many as 18 years. — Associated Press Officials with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service say they will work to address bad behavior by long-distance hikers that has caused tensions at Maine’s Baxter State Park. Trail representatives visited Maine on Friday to discuss the problems. The park is home to the 2,190-mile trail’s final summit on Mount Katahdin. Officials say a growing number of “thru-hikers” have been flouting park rules by openly using drugs and drinking alcohol and camping where it’s not permitted. An ultramarathoner who set the speed record for completing the trail paid a $500 fine last month over his celebration atop Katahdin, in which he popped a bottle of champagne while surrounded by a group of more than a dozen supporters. Park director Jensen Bissell warned that if concerns about the effects long-distance hikers have on the park are not addressed, the Appalachian Trail might have to find a different northern ending point. As a result, a task force of Maine and national groups has talked monthly to address the concerns. Members of Baxter’s governing board asked Friday for specific steps before spring’s hiking season to protect the wilderness of the area that it says has a “profound significance” to Maine residents, the Portland Press Herald reported. An estimated 3 million people hike part of the trail annually, with only a small percentage who attempt to hike the entire route from Georgia to Maine.Last year a record 2,017 thru-hikers came to Baxter, up from 970 in 1998. — Associated Press N.J. priest aims gun at boy: A New Jersey priest pointed a functioning musket at a young boy inside the church’s rectory and indicated he would fire, an incident that may have been spurred by a football rivalry. The Rev. Kevin Carter, 54, was free Saturday after posting $15,000 cash bail, a day after Bergen County prosecutors announced he was charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm. In a Sept. 13 incident at St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry, Carter asked an 8-year-old boy who had arrived for a service with his family to step into one of the rectory’s rooms and stand against a wall, prosecutors said. When the boy did, the priest allegedly pointed the unloaded but fully functioning musket at him. County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Carter, a New York Giants fan, and the boy, who roots for the Dallas Cowboys, were talking about football shortly before the incident occurred. The two NFL teams were scheduled to play that night, so it’s not clear if the incident was possibly a joke that went bad. — From news services |