The lessons of the Exxon Valdez disaster have made members of Congress increasingly insecure about the promises made by BP to cover the total cost of the damage it's caused in the Gulf of Mexico.
On Tuesday, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) told the Huffington Post that he wants the oil giant to sign a pledge committing itself to covering economic damages that would be legally binding. Doing so would fulfill the promises BP has already made, the North Dakota Democrat argued. It would also effectively remove the possibility that the company could drag out questions of liability through decades of litigation -- much like Exxon did following its spill in Alaskan waters.
"[Exxon] fought it for years, for a couple of decades," said Dorgan. "And goodwill is fine, but at this point what we need is a binding commitment from this company that is responsible for this spill in the gulf that they are going to meet their pledge."
"BP has pledged that they are going to cover the cost of this oil spill, but when I asked the Justice Department if that means there is any binding commitment, they said no," the senator added. "And the question is, six months to a year from now, what will they do? And I think what we should do is say that if you are pledging to do this we should get a binding commitment from you."
The retiring senator said he has been discussing with colleagues what type of legislative response Congress could put together to make BP's liability legally binding. Dorgan met on Tuesday with President Barack Obama. And while he refused to relay what was discussed, he did offer his impression that the White House, at least philosophically, agrees with his position.
"All I can tell you is I think these are discussions that are underway in Congress and in the administration," he said. "Because everybody understands there are massive costs here."
Not everyone is bullish on the president's posture. The White House, on Monday, said it favored the full removal of caps on the amount of money oil companies would have to pay in the wake of a major spill. But while aides said the proposal would apply to BP, Democrats on the Hill have called for a firmer commitment to retroactivity. One lawyer who worked on the Exxon Valdez case, meanwhile, suggested that it would be both legally and politically difficult to make BP pay for the totality of the economic damages they caused.
All of which has compelled Dorgan to push the idea of having the oil company simply sign a legally binding agreement -- and, if they didn't, to level punishments to extract the money from the company regardless.
"If they say no, we ask them what their pledge is actually worth," said the senator. "And then we can start talking about an assessment or a fee on this company for the damages they caused by this oil spill. If they mean what they said in covering this cost, they should be held to the pledge or Congress should act."