A disaster as large as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cannot be remediated through the courts – but we can still sue the bastards. This is America, after all.

The US department of justice has filed a civil lawsuit against BP and associated companies like Anadarko and Transocean for damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion that erupted on 20 April, and spewed nearly 5m barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before it was capped on 15 July.

The suit cites damage to the Gulf's natural resources, wildlife and their associated human activities. These natural resources don't just have aesthetic value for a few bird watchers; they have economic value, too. As much as we like to think of ourselves as insulated from nature, we still depend on the complex marine ecosystem for our sustenance, all the way down to the plankton at the bottom of the food chain. The oil executives may tell us we need to be pragmatic in considering the economic effects of environmental controls, but the disaster has already had a pretty big practical effect on the shrimpers, who had 4,200 square miles of Gulf waters closed to their boats last month after tar balls were found in their nets.

The lawsuit, announced by Attorney General Eric Holder, did not specify damages sought, noting ominously (pdf): "The full extent of potential injuries, destruction, loss and loss of services is not yet fully known and may not be fully known for many years." In other words, this could take a while. But if the suit takes five or ten years to wind its way through the courts, is it worth it?

According to the old saying, justice delayed is justice denied. But the suit doesn't have to be resolved quickly for it to affect corporate behaviour. BP has already set up a $20bn compensation fund for those affected by the mess. The justice department lawsuit isn't intended to compensate victims, but to give pause to those managers who are too willing to cut corners on safety. And in the meanwhile, the companies will have to set aside enormous reserves against legal losses, and carry the reserves on their books until all claims are settled. BP's shares fell 3% on the news of the lawsuit. With luck, the oil and gas companies' risk managers will look at the numbers and tell the engineers to tighten up on their safety procedures.

But the legal fight may not end with this civil suit. Holder says the justice department "is making progress" on possible criminal charges against the companies or their employees. Now, that should get their attention – in case the firing of CEO Tony Hayward hadn't already.



Even if the lawyers are successful in suing the perpetrators of this spill, though, we still have larger problems with the energy industry. Maybe the lawyers can help prevent future explosions like the one on the Deepwater Horizon, but the planet is still on a slow boil from the burning of fossil fuels.