BP Employee Files Whistleblower Lawsuit

By Kimberly Mirando

(LEGAFI) -- A former BP employee who helped develop oil spill cleanup plans for the company has filed a whistleblower lawsuit, claiming he was fired in retaliation for voicing concerns about the cleanup of Mississippi’s shoreline after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

August Walter claims in his BP whistleblower lawsuit that one of his bosses manipulated data on shoreline cleanup to make it look like Mississippi beaches were cleaner than they really were, and didn’t give the Coast Guard “the true status” of what substances needed to be cleaned. This was allegedly done in order to wrap up BP’s responsibilities early and leave the remaining cleanup to the Coast Guard.

Walter claims he was fired last month in retaliation for complaining that BP wasn’t following environmental regulations and was “picking and choosing what oil to pick up.” He also claims his termination was in retaliation for refusing to falsify data so that the Coast Guard would believe cleanup activities in the state were closer to completion.

“This was all based on money and had nothing to do with actually cleaning up the oil or meeting the (Shoreline Treatment Recommendations) or environmental requirements,” the BP whistleblower lawsuit alleges.

A BP spokesman said the company doesn’t believe Walter’s allegations have merit but will investigate “consistent with our personnel policies and code of conduct.”

The allegations in Walter’s whistleblower lawsuit are limited to BP’s cleanup in Mississippi and do not include similar plans in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.