Thread: U.S., BP Finalize $20.8 BILLION Deepwater Oil Spill Settlement

U.S., BP Finalize $20.8 Billion Deepwater Oil Spill Settlement

Officials announce terms of largest pollution penalty in U.S. history


The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 was the largest oil spill in U.S. waters. PHOTO:GERALD HERBERT/ASSOCIATED PRESS


By DEVLIN BARRETT
Oct. 5, 2015 11:23 a.m. ET2 COMMENTS

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration said Monday it has finalized the terms of a record $20.8 billion dollar settlement with BP PLC over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The announcement by top officials at the Justice, Commerce, Agriculture and Interior departments, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, puts the final touches on the biggest pollution penalty in U.S. history.

A consent decree was filed in federal court in New Orleans Monday morning outlining the settlement terms.

When the tentative terms of the deal were announced by the Justice Department in July, the company put the total price tag at $18.7 billion, while Justice Department officials said it was $20 billion.

Monday’s announcement resolves that discrepancy.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday called the settlement “a strong and fitting response to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.’’

She said BP “is receiving the punishment it deserves, while also providing critical compensation for the injuries it caused to the environment and the economy of the gulf region.’’

The settlement resolves all federal and state claims against BP for the accident.

The Deepwater disaster, the largest oil spill in U.S. waters, killed 11 crew members and leaked millions of barrels of crude into the gulf, coating hundreds of miles of shoreline with oil.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-says...zed-1444058619

I read BP wants to write the fine off from their taxes due. Also read, laws are trying to be made to eliminate protections for those wild birds so none of those reckless, greedy, deadly polluters will ever have to pay again. And TPP will enable all involved to skirt our environmental laws.