BP won't reimburse ECWR for costs to treat animals
7/28/2010
Like many businesses and organizations in Northwest Florida, the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge is suffering because of the BP oil spill.But unlike those in the tourist trade, the wildlife refuge is getting more business, not less.
It also is seeing a decrease in donations because of rules handed down from the unified command overseeing the spill response, according to refuge director Amanda Wilkerson.
And it is seeing more competition for limited donations as state and national organizations strive to use the oil spill to fill their coffers.
However, the refuge is not getting help from BP. A request for $3,000 to reimburse the nonprofit agency for expenses incurred rescuing oiled turtles and marine mammals was not only rejected, but scoffed at, Wilkerson said.
“We went to the claims office. They threw up their hands and said ‘You’re a volunteer organization. You work as volunteers every day. Why would you expect reimbursement now?’ ” Wilkerson said.
That made perfect sense to Mark Pregler, a BP spokesman at the oil spill Unified Command headquarters in Mobile, Ala.
“Sounds like a valid response,” Pregler said.
But according to Wilkerson and the law firm she’s retained to represent her agency to BP, there are plenty of reasons to ask for money.
Although the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge isn’t contractually bound to BP, the agency is required to save oil-covered animals because it is a permitted turtle and marine mammal rescue operation.
That meant going to Pensacola recently to try to save a dolphin covered in oil.
Four carloads of veterinary technicians and volunteers worked on the animal for four hours before loading it onto a stretcher and bringing it back to Fort Walton Beach. It died later.
In addition to the travel an equipment expenses, the oil ruined the $600 stretcher.
“BP should have committed money to local organizations, realizing they’re straining their resources,” said Perry Zivley, an attorney working with Wilkerson.
As the manager of the oil spill cleanup, BP has decreed that no donations be collected for work related to the oil spill. Taking reimbursements and donations would amount to double dipping, according to BP.
Wilkerson said she doesn’t dare attempt to collect donations specifically for oil spill work, even though the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge doesn’t contract with BP. She is afraid future reimbursement would be withheld.
The refuge and other rescue groups also are barred from using animals that have suffered from the oil spill in advertisements to solicit funds.
In addition, state and national wildlife organizations are playing on emotions sparked by the oil spill to collect donations.
“As conservation groups, we’re all kind of fighting for the same dollars,” Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson presented images showing some of the larger organizations’ ad material. It appeared that if the ads didn’t violate the Unified Command’s no oil spill solicitation order, they were walking a thin line.
“This is predatory,” she said of one advertisement.
Rescue agencies that have BP contracts are getting paid nicely while collecting donations.
“I’ve had donors say to me ‘I want to give to you, but I need to give my money to one of the groups directly involved,’ ” she said.
All those factors are making it hard for the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge.
“BP should be leaving our community stronger, not weaker,” said Zivley, whose law firm is based in Houston.
Mike LaBeau, BP’s Okaloosa County liaison, has been researching the issue. He said his understanding thus far is that “there are no outstanding bills we at BP are responsible for.”
Because the wildlife refuge is permitted to rescue turtles and marine mammals through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, LaBeau said he believes NOAA should reimburse the refuge with funds it has received from BP.
“We reimburse NOAA for services,” he said. “Why wouldn’t NOAA be paying her (Wilkerson)?”
Wilkerson’s worst fear is that NOAA, her organization’s permit holder, might not like it if BP portrays her in a bad light.
“They’re following protocol,” she said of NOAA. “They’re telling us when an animal needs to be rescued to go out and rescue it.”
Zivley said he will go over LaBeau’s head to resolve the issue.
“Why involve NOAA? They’re not the ones who made the mess that’s straining our resources,” he said.
Source: NWF Daily News