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southern Louisiana and along the docks of Mississippi harbors, it is difficult to find someone who has even heard that the toll-free number exists. And those who have called often report difficulty getting through to an operator. So BP is enlisting churches and community groups to get the word out, as well as setting up offices in vacant storefronts along the coast to deal with claimants in person.
This sounds good to coastal residents. But they want it in writing.
“I mean, Exxon came out and said the same stuff after Valdez,” said Jim Hood, the attorney general of Mississippi, who describes himself as a “veteran of the insurance wars” after Hurricane Katrina.
Hood said he was cautiously optimistic after his conversations with BP’s lawyers, who are expected to formalize some of their assurances in writing early this week.
The question of liability is likely to be unsettled for some time. BP officials said that the $75 million limit on the company’s liability, as set forth in the law that governs oil spills, is “not relevant” in this case, and some U.S. senators seem to agree, having proposed legislation that would retroactively raise the cap to $10 billion.
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