Blumenthal Wants BP to Commit To Pay for Damages to Wildlife

It’s been more than two months since the B.P. oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Now Connecticut’s Attorney General is joining with other states to demand the company pay any legitimate claims affecting taxpayers from the eastern seaboard. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says migratory birds that spend time in the Northeast and the Gulf coast could be severely impacted by the oil spill. He and attorneys general from ten states, including as far north as Maine want B.P. to make a commitment to compensate for any damage to wildlife.

“We’re demanding that B.P. and its affiliate companies protect our citizens and our wildlife and natural resources against the potential disastrous effect of this oil spill, which may impact coastal communities up and down the Atlantic.”

Blumenthal says if migratory birds, that pass through Connecticut are affected B.P. will owe the state money, just as it does to the Gulf states.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.