[StBernard] Murphy Oil Complaint Letter

[Westley Annis]

The only way that we will ever see our neighborhoods clean, especially in
the Murphy Oil spill zone" is if we continue to send emails, letters, and
faxes to the appropriate parties.
 
Attached is a copy of my letter to Mr. Hulse, Murphy Oil's President.  I
believe that Mr. Hulse will be responsive based on the fact that I called
his office number at 3am one morning three weeks ago, assuming I would
hopefully get his email.  He answered the phone, which he had forwarded from
his office to his home.  I could be wrong, but he appeared to be genuinely
interested in seeing that those impacted were compensated. 
 
It only takes a few minutes to draft a letter and fax it, and if you don't
have a fax machine, Kinko's and most other companies will fax for a nominal
fee.
 
I will follow-up on a regular basis until we see the debris gone from our
neighborhood.
 
Let's keep our finger's crossed.

----------------------------------
Mr. W.Michael Hulse
President
Murphy Oil USA, Inc.
Post Office Box 7000
El Dorado, Arizona  71731-7000

Dear Mr. Hulse:

Thank you for taking a personal interest in rectifying the impact to the
residents of St. Bernard Parish, for damages to our properties caused by
rupture of an oil tank at your Meraux refinery during Hurricane Katrina.

Your October 24th letter indicates that the clean-up of public property is
nearing completion, and by now, I am sure, is complete.  Equally important,
if not more so, is the removal of trash and debris from the oil spill sites.
Those of us owning homes in the area are disgusted by the lack of attention
to the removal of debris located in front of our homes.  It is our
understanding that the EPA has determined that your company is responsible
for removal of this debris.  Whether or not that is correct, in reading your
settlement documents, your company agreed to a clean-up of properties of
those located in the defined spill area, regardless of whether or not a
settlement was agreed upon.  In contacting your company to request that the
debris in front of my house be removed, I was advised that my name and
address would be taken, and that someone would be in contact with me within
a week or so, however, removal of the debris would follow approximately six
weeks later. This is totally unacceptable.  

My four block subdivision has debris in front of every house as well as the
neutral grounds.  We are told that it is safe to return to our homes, but it
is not safe to remove debris.  Where are our priorities?  

Mr. Hulse, I implore you to expedite removal of debris from Corinne Estates
and the other streets affected before rats, mice, etc. decide to feast upon
the food and related debris that has been sitting there for at least four
weeks now.  This is Murphy Oil Company's best opportunity to demonstrate
that it is interested in the health and welfare of its "neighbors".  While
no one could have imagined the impact of this hurricane, someone has to take
the lead on this clean-up effort.  I have no doubt that having Murphy Oil
Company step up to the plate and remove this debris as quickly as possible
will result in positive relations with your "neighbors".  On the other hand,
as long as the debris remains in front of our homes, it serves as a reminder
that Murphy Oil, whether through negligence or not, is the primary culprit
stopping us from returning to our homes.

Your prompt attention to this matter will be greatly appreciated.

							Sincerely,



							John F. Richardson