Congresswoman Kathy Castor pressed Gov. Rick Scott in person to aggressively fight for Florida taxpayers – relating to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster – at a Florida congressional delegation meeting this morning. 

The April 20, 2011 deadline to file a claim in an important federal court case involving the liability of Transocean, BP and other responsible parties is quickly approaching.  Castor stressed to Scott the need to secure the State of Florida’s rights, and fight for fair compensation to the State and taxpayers. Castor cited the lack of evidence that the Governor is proceeding to protect Florida taxpayers and the lack of an overall strategy to hold the responsible parties accountable.

“It is unconscionable for the Governor not to protect Florida’s rights and forcefully seek damages from the responsible parties for the devastation they caused,” Castor said. To Scott, she said: “You need to be more aggressive and transparent.”

Castor discussed the matter and personally delivered a letter to then-Gov. Elect Scott in December, urging him to seek damages and compensation. She followed up in a letter to Scott and Attorney General Bondi this week, reminding them about the approaching April 20^th deadline set by the federal district court to file a claim.

At today’s Florida Delegation meeting, Castor asked Scott who his lead counsel is on this issue, who is gathering economic data and to outline his strategy. Scott summed it up by saying he would rather work with people than file a lawsuit, and he wanted to be fair to BP by finding a solution BP feels comfortable with.  Scott emphasized his “good working relationship with BP.”

“I am concerned about fairness to Floridians for the harm caused to our economy and environment,” Castor said. “Florida taxpayers and have suffered damages for lost state tax revenues and other state expenses. Our priority needs to be holding BP and Transocean accountable and to be fair to the taxpayers of Florida.”