Commercial diver David Hogan and his wife have filed a lawsuit against BP, Corexit oil dispersant maker NALCO Co, Transocean, Xplore Oil & Gas, Halliburton, ConocoPhillips, and Stuyvesant Dredging Co., alleging that being exposed to the dispersants used in the BP oil spill has left him unable to walk, caused him to have seizures and go blind.

The lawsuit says that after the oil spill, BP used over 1.8 million gallons of Corexit in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  ”Between June 1, 2010 and the end of November, 2010, David Hogan performed commercial diving work from boats and vessels that were owned, leased, chartered, contracted for, and/or under the direction and control of Specialty Offshore, ConocoPhillips, Xplore Oil, and the Stuyvesant defendants in the navigable water of the Gulf of Mexico. On every one of those dives during that period of time, David Hogan dove into waters that were contaminated with both the crude oil and the Corexit® dispersants.” According to the lawsuit, Hogan said that on a June 2010 dive, “he immediately noticed that something was different from his prior diving experiences,” and that “the oil seemed to have sunk considerably deeper into the depths of the Gulf waters than he had ever seen or experienced before. He immediately terminated his dive and returned to the surface, only to find that his wetsuit looked entirely different than it had ever looked before when he had dived into waters with an oil spill.” More Divers Blame Sickness and Injuries on BP Oil Spill Dispersant

U.S. District Judge Christopher Connor has ruled that landowner Edward Kamuck can sue Shell Energy Holdings GP over allegations that the fracking is an “ultra hazardous activity.” In a lawsuit filed in August 2011, Kamuck claims that fracking, a methodology used to extract natural gas from shale formations deep in the Earth, is an “abnormally dangerous and ultra hazardous activity” for which Shell Energy should be subjected to strict liability for “the contamination and pollutions caused by…releases, spills, sprays, emissions, discharges and flowback of hazardous chemicals and combustible gases,” Courthouse News reports.

Kamuck alleges that the fracking activities conducted by Shell has contaminated his water supply and his land, and included private nuisance claims in the lawsuit over the dust, fluid, and noise linked to natural gas drilling. More PA Lawsuit over Fracking Will Go Forward

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier has given his preliminary approval  of a settlement that will resolve over 100,000 lawsuits brought by businesses and individuals harmed by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The settlement is made up of two agreements, one that covers medical claims and one covering property and economic claims. Of the agreements, Judge Barbier said they are “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” with “no obvious deficiencies.” More Judge Gives Preliminary OK to BP Oil Spill Settlement

An appeal of an order by Judge Paul Pozonsky in the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County, Pennsylvania, has grown as researchers and physicians have joined the Child Health Advocacy Institute in requesting the disclosure of a settlement between several gas producers and a family that said fracking was threatening their health.

The lawsuit was filed by Chris and Stephanie Hallowich after the members of their family began to suffer burning eyes, sore throats, nosebleeds, and headaches after drillers began fracking on their property. More Doctors Prompt Court to Disclose Details of Fracking Settlement

Despite objections from the Mississippi attorney general and a BP contractor, as well as others, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said he will decide within a week whether to rule in favor of granting a proposed class action settlement over the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. The settlement would resolve about $7.8 billion in claims, however that is an estimate, as there would be no cap on the settlement.

The Associated Press reports Judge Barbier as saying, “This has been a very impressive effort on the part of counsel…in terms of getting to where you all are today.” He compared the case to the Exxon Valdez litigation that took nearly 20 years to resolve, saying, “I did not intend for this case to go on for 20 years, not with me in charge of it.”

Objections to the settlement are coming from various groups, including commercial fisherman who said the settlement has “significant flaws” that would not protect many in the industry against future risks. Attorney General Jim Hood said the settlement would exclude 200,000 businesses and individuals.

Judge Barbier said his approval for the class action settlement would only be a starting point, and objections would be considered later. He wrote that would hold a “fairness hearing” later in the year, before giving final approval.

The American Shrimp Processors Association has asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to delay any preliminary approval of proposed BP oil spill  settlement regarding economic damages from the 2010 Gulf oil spill, saying that the accord is unfair to certain parts of the shrimp industry.

According to the group, the settlement calls for BP to pay $2.3 billion in seafood claims, however, it does not take into consideration “key segments of the shrimp industry” even though shrimp docks, processors and others share “virtually identical” future economic risks as the shrimp harvesters and boat captains who, they say, are favored in the settlement. More Shrimp Processors Request Delay in BP Oil Settlement Approval

Three environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard alleging the agencies approved the use of chemical dispersants without knowing how the chemicals in the dispersants could affect endangered species. The plaintiffs, the Surfrider Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Pacific Environment, say the agencies have violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine how endangered species may have been affected by the chemicals used to clean up the oil from the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the lawsuit, over 1.8 million gallons of dispersant were used in the Gulf, in what amounts to a “huge…unplanned experiment where dispersants were used in unprecedented quantities and different ways, using them subsea rather than just on the surface, and information is continuing to come out from that,” an attorney for the groups said. “The whole idea is to have a better understanding of all these products, and when and where and how they can or can’t be used safely.” More EPA, Coast Guard Sued over Dispersants

US has filed several motions to dismiss a multidistrict litigation brought by service members or their families members who were stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina alleging water contamination caused by the negligent disposal of chlorinated solvents and other contaminants which caused the plaintiffs to develop cancers.

The US said in the motions that the water pollution at the camp was due in part to military disposal practices, but that plaintiffs are prohibited from damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Three of the seven cases in the MDL should be dismissed the US contends because the Feres doctrine holds that service members cannot sue for injuries, “arising out of or sustained incident to military service,” Law360 reports. More Federal Tort Claims Act Protect US from Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

Plaintiffs who settled a lawsuit with DuPont Chemical over their Washington Works plant near Parkersburg, West Virginia will also be eligible for medical monitoring programs after a three-member science panel analyzed data collected between 2009 and 2011 from nearly 70,000 people. The panel interviewed over 30,000 people, including 28,000 residents and 4,000 workers regarding their medical history.

The science panel concluded their analysis finding a probable link between testicular and kidney cancers and exposure to a chemical used at the DuPont plant. The panel found no link between the chemical C8, perfluorooctanoic acid, and 19 other cancers nor a link between the chemical and adult onset diabetes, Product Design & Development reports. More Study Links Teflon Chemical with Cancer

The Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources over fracking in state parks. According to the environmental group, they requested public records related to House Bill 133, which created an Oil and Gas Leasing Commission to oversee state land leases for oil and gas drilling and exploration across the state.

The Sierra Club requested documents regarding fracking in state parks over five months ago however, the ODNR have not provided the group with those documents, nor has it provided a written explanation of its refusal. In a statement, the manager of the Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club, Jed Thorp, said “Ohioans have the right to know about the backroom deals being made to bring fracking into our state parks.” He continued, “The reckless natural gas industry has no place fracking on some of our state’s most beautiful public lands.” More Ohio DNR Sued by Sierra Club over Fracking in State Parks