$18.7B deal clears path for BP to close books on Gulf spill
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trying to close the books on the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, BP agreed Thursday to provide billions of dollars in new money to five Gulf Coast states in a deal the company said would bring its full obligations to an estimated $53.8 billion.
Federal and state government officials touted the record-breaking $18.7 billion agreement as a historic milestone in the Gulf Coast's recovery.
The Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 rig workers and spewed millions of gallons of crude that stained beaches, coated wildlife and polluted marshes.
"If the court approves this proposal, BP will be getting off easy and 'we the people' will not be fully compensated for the natural resource damages that we suffered, and the law requires that the public is made whole for those damages," said Jacqueline Savitz, U.S. vice president for Oceana, a group dedicated to protecting the world's oceans.
David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the Justice Department's environmental crimes section, said BP's total price tag is "staggering" but includes many tax-deductible costs.
The agreement only leaves a handful of relatively minor loose ends for BP, including claims by people who either opted out or were not covered by 2012 settlement with private lawyers.