BP has reached a historic agreement with five Gulf States to settle the claims made against the company from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, resulting in the largest environmental settlement in history.
Political figures from the states involved, as well as Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke out in favor of the deal Thursday morning.
“Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – the largest environmental disaster in our nation’s history – the Justice Department has been fully committed to holding BP accountable, to achieving justice for the American people and to restoring the environment and the economy of the Gulf region at the expense of those responsible and not the American taxpayer,” Lynch said in a statement released by the Department of Justice.
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According to a statement released by Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal, the full agreement totals approximately $18.732 billion. Of that amount, Louisiana will receive more than $6.8 billion from the settlement, bringing the state’s total recovery from the disaster to approximately $10 billion.
“Five years ago my administration committed to holding BP accountable for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Today, through extensive coordination with the Attorney General’s office and the State’s coastal authorities, we’ve made good on that promise,” Jindal said.
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Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant announced Mississippi’s compensation over Twitter, which according to his tweet will amount to around $2.2 billion.
Alabama will receive approximately $2.3 billion according to Gov. Robert Bentley’s twitter. The tweets state the money will be used to facilitate coastal restoration projects and cover statewide economic damages Alabama suffered.
“If approved by the court, this settlement would be the largest settlement with a single entity in American history; it would help repair the damage done to the Gulf economy, fisheries, wetlands and wildlife; and it would bring lasting benefits to the Gulf region for generations to come,” Lynch said.
Although the agreement was announced on Thursday, it is still not finalized. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest environmental disaster in the United States’ history. Eleven people were killed, and in November 2012, BP pleaded guilty to 11 felony manslaughter charges, as well as environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress. BP was sentenced to paying $4 billion from the initial charges.
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