A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected the request by the Sierra Club, one of the oldest environmental organizations in the U.S., to join a lawsuit by the Justice Department against oil giant BP and other defendants over last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Federal Judge Sally Shushan ruled on Tuesday that the Sierra Club can file briefs with the court to make its position known and it would also be allowed to make public comments when there is a settlement, according to U.S. media reports.

The U.S. government last December sued BP, the British oil giant behind the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico year, for damages under the U.S. Oil Pollution Act and the Clean Water Act.

Besides BP, which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded on April 20, creating the worst offshore oil spill disaster in U.S. history, defendants in the suit also included the rig's owner Transocean Ltd, Anadarko Petroleum Corp, Mitsui & Co Ltd unit MOEX and BP's insurer Lloyds of London.

The lawsuit demanded the companies be held liable without limitation for all removal costs and damage caused by the oil spill, including damage to natural resources. The lawsuit also sought civil penalties under the Clean Water Act.

The Sierra Club said it wanted to join the lawsuit to make sure coastal communities are fairly represented as well as to make sure that money from the BP fines will be used to restore coastal environment.

The U.S. Justice Department voiced objection to the Sierra Club request, saying that if the request is granted, the rights of the government would be hurt by denying it exclusive control over the prosecution of the claims related to the BP oil spill.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet