Jurors have been chosen for the trial of a BP supervisor on the rig that exploded in 2010.
NEW ORLEANS — A jury was chosen and opening arguments set for Wednesday in the misdemeanor pollution trial of a former BP rig supervisor accused in the 2010 oil spill.
Robert Kaluza, 65, is likely the last person to stand trial after a sweeping Justice Department investigation into the rig explosion and well blowout. Millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico, and BP and the government worked for nearly three months to stop the gusher.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval said as jury selection began Tuesday that he scheduled 13 days for the trial.
Each potential juror had earlier filled out a 16-page questionnaire and pledged not to research, read or look into any information related to Kaluza’s case. One of the 48 questions asked was their opinions about oil companies, BP and Transocean and Halliburton, which were codefendants in the corporate case. Other questions were views on about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and whether they, family members or friends were affected by the explosion or spill.
If attorneys or the judge had questions about their answers, they were called to a table where the judge and attorneys sat to ask for details. Questions and answers were not audible to others in the courtroom.
Prosecutors say Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, another supervisor, botched a “negative pressure test” and missed clear signs of trouble before the blowout.
Both had faced more serious charges of manslaughter of 11 workers who died when the rig exploded, but federal prosecutors backed off those charges. In terms of individual criminal responsibility for the spill, only four mostly lower-ranking employees faced charges. Those cases have unraveled before skeptical jurors and judges.
The government did secure a landmark criminal settlement and record civil penalties against the corporation, which BP said would cost it billions.
Kaluza’s trial is for a single charge of violating the Clean Water Act. Vidrine pleaded guilty to the same charge last year. He has not been sentenced, but it’s likely no one will serve prison time related to the spill.
“From Bob’s standpoint, he’s charged with a crime he didn’t commit, and he’s going to go to trial to clear his name,” Kaluza attorney Shaun Clarke said last year.
The manslaughter charges against Kaluza and Vidrine were dropped after the acquittal in June of former BP executive David Rainey. A jury found him not guilty of manipulating calculations to match a low estimate of the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf.
Former BP engineer Kurt Mix once faced two felony charges for allegedly deleting text messages that prosecutors said were related to investigations of the spill. After a yearslong legal ordeal, he pleaded guilty last November to a misdemeanor charge.