(September 24, 2015, 3:03 PM EDT) -- NEW ORLEANS — The federal judge in Louisiana overseeing litigation stemming from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 14 awarded summary judgment to BP Exploration & Production Inc. and Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., after finding that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act’s (CERCLA) petroleum exclusion relieved the companies of their duty to report the incident to the local emergency planning committee under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, MDL 2179, Center for Biological Diversity v. BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al. Nos. 10-2454, 10-1768, E.D. La.; 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125358)....