By: Steve Lash

The missive Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and 10 of his East Coast colleagues sent Monday to embattled British Petroleum reads like the proverbial lawyer’s letter subtly threatening litigation if the Gulf of Mexico oil spill spreads to the Atlantic Ocean.

First, the letter from the 11 attorneys general contains the language of a legal claim for damages.

“Though the immediate area of impact from this catastrophe is in the Gulf region, portions of the East Coast are at foreseeable risk of substantial harm,” the letter states (emphasis added). “Even if our coast waters and communities are not directly impacted, there may well be significant harm to the migratory bird and fish species that form an important part of our natural resources and economy.”

Second, the attorneys general indicate their potential statutory cause(s) of action but do not expressly mention the possibility of litigation.

“BP has extensive liability for the consequences of this oil spill, including but not limited to liability under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,” the letter states.

Third, the three-page letter gives BP an opportunity to avoid the lawsuit that is not mentioned and has yet to be filed.

“[W]e request that BP memorialize its public commitments and provide further assurances regarding payment of all legitimate claims stemming from this oil spill,” the attorneys general state. “This will allow us, the lawyers for our respective states, to advise our states on how best to plan for the future.”

The attorneys general then request that BP not throw anything out — just in case the next letter the company receives is, in fact, a subpoena.

“Finally, we ask that BP and any of its affected employees or affiliated organizations preserve any and all documents, data compilations, including electronically recorded and stored data, tangible objects and other information relevant to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the resulting oil spill that began on April 20, 2010, and the response and clean-up effort in any form in which they currently exist until further notice,” the letter states. “Regardless of BP’s retention policy, please ensure that the appropriate person within each entity takes all necessary measures to prevent and avoid the destruction or modification of any such records.”

The perhaps not-so-subtle letter concludes by inviting the BP executives who receive it to give their “prompt response on this important matter” to Gansler and the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,  New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and South Carolina.