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| This pelican is covered in oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photo Courtesy: Governor Jindal's Office | Flickr CC. |
An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April 2010
left 11 people dead. It spilled an estimated 200 million gallons of oil into
the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly five years later it appears that a settlement in the
case has been reached. The claim is awaiting approval by the
United States District Court Judge. If approved it would be the largest
environmental settlement in the nation’s history.
The settlement includes the Federal Government, the states
of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and more
than 400 local governments. Communities along the Gulf coast suffered financial
losses from the immediate and long-term results of the spill. Tourism losses are estimated at $22.7 billion. Total losses to the fishing
industry may reach $8.7 billion. More than 5,000 marine mammals,
1,000 sea turtles, and nearly 1 million birds were killed as a result of the
spill.
This settlement is in addition to $4
billion already paid in criminal fines. BP estimates that they will spend over
$40 billion in costs related to the spill, including an estimated $14 billion
spent during the 3-month period when the company tried to control the spill.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
commented on the result of the complex negotiations that lead to this
agreement. She said it would, “justly and comprehensively address outstanding
federal and state claims” and “bring lasting benefits to the Gulf region for
generations to come.”
One round of negotiations in 2013
failed to deliver an agreement due to “unrealistic expectations” for the
amounts that Alabama and Louisiana would receive. Over time, “the states became
much more realistic,” said David M. Uhlmann, a professor at university of
Michigan Law School and a former federal prosecutor of environmental crimes, in
the New York Times.
Under the agreement, BP would pay the federal government a
civil penalty of $5.5 billion under the Clean Water Act over a 15-year time
frame, and would pay $7.1 billion under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment
to the Gulf, which is meant to compensate for direct environmental harm caused
by the spill. Economic damage claims made by the states total $6 billion—$1
billion of that amount is allocated to claims from local governments.
A further $5 billion of the settlement—in addition to $1
billion for local government claims—would arise from economic damage claims
made by the states.
Robert W. Dudley, BP’s group chief
executive quoted in the New York Times, called the agreement “a realistic
outcome which provides clarity and certainty for all parties.”
Environmental groups’ response to the
settlement is mixed. Some say it took too long. Others argue that the
settlement isn’t large enough to fix the damage. However, some
environmentalists are responding with cautious optimism.
The settlement puts aside $232 million
to pay for long-term damages discovered after the settlement is approved. The
settlement does not signal an end to the impact of the spill, but it marks a
major step in the region’s environmental recovery. No one is planning to stop
paying attention to the Gulf, in fact it may signal a time for increased
awareness and attention.
“Let’s put it this way: I’m still going
to come in to work tomorrow. I think it’s still critically important for all of
us to pay attention to how this money is spent,” said Bethany Kraft, director
of the Gulf Restoration Program at the Ocean Conservancy.
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