It’s all well and good that cement is flowing into the BP Deepwater Horizon wellhead and government and company officials say they think the well is plugged for good.
But Suzanne Burke just wants to get paid.
Burke, a Panama City resident who owns rental property along the sugar-sand beach, said she was told by an adjuster Wednesday that the company’s position is that there was no direct impact of oil on Florida’s beaches in May. Therefore, the oil company has decided that she’s not to be reimbursed for lost business during the month.
“The May check was on (the adjuster’s) desk but he was told not to mail it, that any money I got would be taken out of my June check,” Burke said. “The adjuster said it was because there were no impacts in Florida in May. That’s just not true. ”
Burke said she is among more than a handful of Florida business owners who are finding out that BP does not consider the loss of business due to the threat of oil a loss that the company should reimburse.
Likewise, Capt William Gay, a charter boat captain from Panama City Beach, said the $1,000 check he received from the company for July will be his last. Gay said the month would conservatively have brought in $35,000 if waters where he usually takes clients had been open or if his potential clients hadn’t thought the fish were oily and canceled trips.
“I was basically told by them ‘we’re done,'” Gay said.
BP spokesman Ray Melick said Thursday that there is no companywide policy of denying May claims in Florida, but it is requiring that recipients of BP cash assistance provide proof of lost income. If they can’t do that, the checks they get for June and July could be reduced, while those who may have underestimated May losses can get additional money, Melick said.
“I’m sure there are some people who feel they have not been treated fairly,” Melick said. “That’s why we also have an appeals process in place.”
As the company announced on Thursday the successful capping of the well, many businesses are still trying to square the books over losses they say were attributable to the mere threat of oil on Florida Panhandle beaches.
News reports in May prompted a flood of cancellations from wary visitors unsure whether their summer beach getaway would be tainted by oil, local business owners and officials say.
Though oil did not make significant landfall anywhere in Florida until June, hospitality industry officials said much of the damage had been done as vacationers stayed away.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls from people experiencing the same thing,” said Beth Oltman, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Speaking to business representatives Thursday at Schooners restaurant in Panama City, President Barack Obama’s top adviser on energy and climate change said the administration was in for the long haul and prepared to press BP to pay for damages that will continue to be assessed as the spill’s damage is more closely reviewed.
“I just want to tell you that we are not going anywhere,” Carol Browner told the local merchants. “We remain committed?.It’s an important regional treasure but it’s also a national treasure.”
Some decisions on claims will be made by federal claims administrator Ken Feinberg. He has said that business loss claims will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and that it’s hard to say what the exact rules will be.
Those who believe they were harmed by the spill have three options actually: they could continue to submit claims directly to BP, which is deciding whether to pay them and processing them through a contractor called ESIS, or they can file a claim with the federally overseen escrow account that Feinberg is in charge of. They also could try to sue BP, though many experts have said that route may end with no payment and could take a long time.
Meanwhile, more top federal officials will parade through the area next week. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will be in the region next week for town halls and President Obama is expected to spend part of his August vacation with his family on the Gulf coast.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
