Protocols for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility: An Etiquette of Equivocation

Abstract

This article describes the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) which President Obama and BP established to resolve claims by individuals and businesses for damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the protocols under which the Facility is to operate. It examines the Draft Protocol shared with state officials in July 2010 and the Protocol for Emergency Advance Payments released by GCCF in August 2010. A comparison of the two documents suggests that the protocols are being "negotiated" in a way that makes its provisions less precise and more ambiguous.

Keywords: Oil Spill Protocol, Feinberg, BP, British Petroleum, Deepwater Horizon