March 13, 2014
EPA to Lift Suspension and Debarment of BP From Federal Government
Contracts
Agreement contains strong provisions to continue safety and ethics
improvements in order to comply
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency and BP today
executed an agreement resolving all suspension and debarment actions
against BP that barred the company from doing business with the federal
government following the company’s guilty plea in the Deepwater Horizon
disaster of April 2010. The administrative agreement will be in place
for five years.
“This is a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in
order to meet the terms we’ve outlined together,” said EPA Assistant
Administrator of Administration and Resources Craig Hooks. “Many months
of discussions and assessments have led up to this point, and I’m
confident we’ve secured strong provisions to protect the integrity of
federal procurement programs.”
Under the agreement, BP is required to retain an independent auditor
approved by EPA who will conduct an annual review and report on BP’s
compliance with the agreement. There are also specific provisions
addressing ethics compliance, corporate governance, and process safety.
The agreement additionally provides EPA the authority to take
appropriate corrective action in the event the agreement is breached.
EPA coordinated this matter with the Department of Interior, Defense
Logistics Agency and U.S. Coast Guard.
Since November 2012, EPA has suspended 25 BP entities and disqualified
BP Exploration and Production, Inc. from performing federal contract
work at its corporate facility in Houston, Texas, stemming from its
criminal conviction in the U.S. Government’s Deepwater Horizon case.
Suspensions are issued where there is an immediate need to protect the
public interest supported by adequate evidence. The suspension did
not affect existing agreements BP had with the government.
The agreement announced today takes effect immediately.
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