One year after the worse environmental disaster in U.S. history, a special investigation report released today by the NAACP finds that, thousands of Gulf residents have not been “made whole” from the BP oil drill disaster on April 20, 2010, and many are still suffering mental health problems which range from mild to severe. The investigation’s findings reveal that financial woes for some have reached a critical juncture with loss of livelihoods resulting in foreclosures, evictions, seizure of other property, loss of insurance, as well as many formerly independent persons have become reliant on public benefits such as food stamps.
Based on dozens of interviews with affected communities, organizations, a review of consensus documents and other reports from technical experts, as well as organizations representing thousands of gulf residents, the report, entitled “My Name is 6509799″, finds that thousands in the region have suffered extreme financial impact from the BP disaster and one year after, there is little or no relief, with many people reaching the end of their ropes.
“In a region which had yet to recover from the compounded massacres from four major hurricanes over the past 5 years, the Gulf Oil Drilling Disaster landed on top of existing vulnerabilities for many, and toppled the gains of those who had fully recovered,” the report points out. “Landlords, banks, insurance companies and other debt holders have extended as much grace as they were willing to offer and rates of foreclosure, car and boat note loss, insurance withdrawal, etc. have spiked significantly.”
Despite the boast that over 450,000 claims have been processed since the Gulf Coast Claim Facility became operational on August 23, 2010, a mere 187,000 individual claims for a total of $3.2 billion have been paid, and over 100,000 claims have been denied due to supposed lack of documentation, the report notes.
More importantly, of the 187,000 individual claims paid, 114,000 or 61% were for payments under $5,000. And of the 60,000 claims paid out for a total of $1.9 billion, approximately 75% were for under $25,000.
“The way Feinberg presents information at the various forums touting billions of dollars and thousands number of claims paid doesn’t present the full picture. Over 57% of claims paid in Louisiana are quick claims. Those most impacted, most hurt, are not taking those quick payments, so they are still waiting and standing in line. Lots of money has gone to tourism type people and I don’t deny that those people are in need, but only a tiny percentage has gone to fisherfolk. I’d like to caution all of us to use full metrics,” said Senator Vitter on January 27th at the Senate Hearings on the Oil Spill.
Drawing on noted experts in the field, the report points out that seafood safety testing has been challenged by lack of sound methodology, as well as sampling. Levels of toxins have been found in seafood samples that some experts say, pose a risk to human health.
Based on the findings, the report offers several recommendations that should be implemented, including:
- Immediate reform of the claims process
- BP-financed physical and mental health care systems to provide a continuum of quality care
- Evaluation of seafood safety by the FDA
- Greater engagement of affected communities in the design and management of their own solutions
- Investment by BP in enterprises which fully support the resumption of fishing and other affected industries
- BP-financed Support to community based organizations to handle increased demands stemming from the extensive economic, health and socio-cultural issues arising from this disaster
- Expansion by BP of its Gulf Research Initiative to include anthropological, sociological, epidemiological and economic investigations.
Today, NAACP President Ben Jealous sent a letter to BP CEO Robert Dudley expressing grave concern about the state of affairs in the Gulf region and the many unaddressed issues. Jealous requested a meeting to discuss the problems with the view to implementing the report’s recommendations.
