Lafourche council forms BP Oil Spill Committee

After failing to pass the resolution three weeks ago, Lafourche Parish Council Chairman Daniel Lorraine resurrected a measure to create a three-member BP Oil Spill Committee.

The resolution passed 7-0, with councilmen Jerry Jones and Philip Gouaux abstaining, citing conflicts of interest because of ties to the oil industry.

Comprised of Lorraine, councilmen Lindel Toups and Joseph Fertitta – representing south, central and north Lafourche, respectively – the committee will meet on the first and third Mondays of every month at 6 p.m. at the Mathews Government Complex.

The committee met for the first time Monday to address the concerns of residents and increase the level of communication between residents, Lafourche Parish Government and BP.

With BP officials on hand, fishermen were provided with the chance to express their concerns about BP’s Vessels of Opportunity and claims programs.

After electing Toups chairman of the committee, BP community outreach worker John Rigstad and Adam Griffin, the contractor overseeing the Vessels of Opportunity program, answered questions in an open forum discussion.

“I hope that this committee is a liaison between BP and the fishermen,” Fertitta said. “I can’t imagine going to bed one night and waking up the next morning and your total income is gone. I’m here to help, and I hope this committee can do that.”

Griffin assured the committee the VoO program will be around for many more months.

But complaints from Lorraine and others about non-fishermen working for the program were prevalent throughout the evening.

“Why don’t they look at the W-2 forms to see where they’re making money? [VoO] was set up for the fishermen – not for Tom, Dick and Harry,” said Lorraine.

Rigstad said BP is trying to phase out recreational fishermen and workers who aren’t fishermen from the program by only hiring those with more than 50 percent of their income coming from fishing.

However, he said the conglomerate is not authorized to look at W-2 forms of fishermen because that information is confidential.

Additionally, Rigstad said BP could not look at the W-2 forms of those who have filed claims because that data has been passed over to Kenneth Feinberg, the man tapped by the Obama administration to determine BP payouts.

Those who have filed claims expressed disgust with Feinberg’s recent statements that those working for the VoO program will have their earnings deducted from their claims check.

“The guy that sits back with no risk gets his full settlement, and the guy that’s working gets it deducted. I can’t see how that’s fair,” said fisherman Rickey Cheramie.

Lorraine welcomed unhired VoO fishermen in attendance to sign a parish list Monday, and 18 fishermen took him up on the offer, providing the parish their contact and boat information. Parish officials will contact BP in an attempt to educate the respective fishermen on why they have not been hired yet.

The committee will next meet Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Mathews Government Complex, at which time Lorraine said he would review the list of fishermen waiting for work in the VoO program.

Although the committee has no law-writing power, parish officials said the open forum will increase communication and understanding in this time of crisis.

“We need to do our best to assist the citizens of Lafourche Parish to make sure that all the commercial and charter fishermen are available and ready to go to work and that we are the liaison involved in the Vessels of Opportunity program,” said parish Finance Director Ryan Friedlander. “I think we can do a lot of good with this.”

Councilman Matt Matherne, who initially opposed forming the committee, expressed skepticism about the group’s effectiveness. He wanted two fishermen – non-council members – added to the committee.

He said if results from the meetings begin to go south, he’ll recommend a five-member board of fishermen to be added to the committee.

“I figure I’ll just let them do it, then when they end up on their rear end, I’ll add the fishermen,” Matherne said. “I’ll put a thing in there to form a committee of fishermen authorized by the parish when they look like fools, because that’s how they’re going to look.”

With approximately 25 boats on record as full time commercial fishermen in Lafourche Parish yet to get hired, Bobby Gros, owner of Bobby Lynn’s Marina in Leeville, wants to make sure the committee pushes BP to hire the parish’s remaining boats.

“We need to bring in those 25 and get them trained,” he said. “It’s a three to four week period to get them rigged, trained, Coast Guard approved and know what they’re doing operating the boom. It’s not an easy job, and they’d rather be trawling, but they’re saving out way of life.”

BP has gone on record as saying they will hire more boats, but because of the company’s plans to implement a time-on-time-off system, Gros wants to make sure the new boats aren’t at the expense of all of the experienced boats.

He disagrees with BP’s notion to rotate out the longest-tenured Vessels of Opportunity workers first.

“That’s a major mistake. That’s like going to war and telling all your generals to stay home,” said Gros. “These guys know what’s going on. We need to keep them on until the new guys are trained and have been working for a couple of weeks so they know the program.”