U.S. Says $20.8 Billion BP Spill Settlement Finalized
October 05 2015 - 11:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Devlin Barrett
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.
BP officials have said previously the agreement provides the
company, and the Gulf region, "a path to closure," resolving the
largest legal exposure and providing more certainty in terms of
costs and payments.
Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 05, 2015 11:38 ET (15:38 GMT)
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