Once upon a time, BP told Northwest Florida that they would make it right. Our claims would be paid. In fact, their representatives, including BP VP Darryl Willis, assured us by giving people “on the spot” checks for up to $5,000 to tide them over until the paperwork on the full claims could be sent in.
First BP said, “No claim would be denied.” That changed later to “No legitimate claim would be denied.” Now it’s “No OPA claim will be denied.”
Last week, State Sen. Don Gaetz asked BP for clarification on the claim process. Here is the email from Mary Shafer, deputy incident commander for Florida to Gaetz’s aide:
From: Shafer-Malicki, Mary L (Swift)
To: MOYA.ELIZABETH
Sent: Wed Aug 04 17:13:06 2010
Subject: RE: Senate Select Committee on FLAs Economy
Elizabeth,
Here is the official statement:
BP will make claim payments based on the time an area has been impacted due to oiled beaches. This is consistent with the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), which is guiding BP’s claims process. In general, Louisiana had oiled beaches or marshes in May, while Alabama, Mississippi and Florida did not have beaches oiled until June. Specific claims will need to be discussed with adjusters who will factor in a number of criteria.
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This email was sent one day after Willis held a telephone press conference. At the press conference, Willis dodged questions about this.
This is the type of misdirection that has been the BP strategy since April 20: hold a press conference and give broad statements that reassure the public, run ads to reinforce that air of trust and commitment and then, when pressed for specifics, have an underling issue a statement that doesn’t match the press conferences and ads…or at least it makes everyone go back and see the words don’t quite mean what the public thought.