U.S. Coast Guard fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the BP operated off shore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is suspending British oil giant
BP Exploration and Production Inc. and affiliated companies from
further federal contracts, the Environmental Protection Agency announced
Wednesday.
The suspension came "due to BP's lack of business
integrity as demonstrated by the company's conduct with regard to the
Deepwater Horizon blowout, explosion, oil spill, and response," the EPA
said in a statement.
BP pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to numerous
criminal charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that
killed 11 people and caused the largest environmental disaster in U.S.
history. The charges included 11 counts of misconduct or neglect of ship
officers, one count of obstruction of Congress, one misdemeanor count
of a violation of the Clean Water Act, and one misdemeanor count of a
violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The EPA was tasked
with deciding any suspension and debarment actions as a part of the
government's investigation into the disaster.
The government
suspends or debarrs companies from federal contracts to ensure it is
conducting business only with responsible individuals or companies and
not as a punitive step. The suspension will not affect existing federal
contracts, but it means that BP and the named affiliates cannot get new
government contracts, grants or other covered transactions until the
company can prove to the EPA that it meets federal business standards.
A suspension could last up to one year.
To
get a suspension lifted, a company often will hire outside firms to
help improve the company's ethics program, its ability to conduct
internal investigations, and its ability to communicate with the
government.
Often a company will submit to the government a plan
for improvement and progress reports over several years and, if the plan
is accepted by the government, the company will then pay the government
to cover costs associated with administering the improvement plan.
By Steven Watkins, Federal Times