The first hearing of the trial of a former BP rig supervisor over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster reveals that the supervisor ignored a clear red flag and should be held partly responsible or the 2010 oil spill.
ABC reports that Prosecutor Jennifer Saulino said in her opening statement that Robert Kaluza is one of two supervisors who ignored tests showing upward pressure from oil and gas when there shouldn’t have been any. Kaluza is standing trial on a single misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act and could face up to a year in prison if convicted.
Kaluza, who was day supervisor for BP PLC, and night supervisor Donald Vidrine both ignored critical test results that pointed toward a major malfunction in the making, Saulino said. Vidrine has pleaded guilty to the charge facing Kaluza and will testify for the prosecution.
Defense lawyer Shaun Clarke argued that Kaluza was only working a brief stint on the rig and now finds himself accused of “the greatest environmental crime in all our history” because he left a critical decision to more experienced people.
He also said the main reason the well blew out is that BP and rig owner Transocean Ltd. had failed to do required five-year maintenance on the rig’s blowout preventer. It should have been taken off of the rig, disassembled, repaired and put back together 4½ years before the accident on April 20, 2010, he said.
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