Deepwater Horizon Settlement Announced

The federal government and five Gulf Coast states have reached a tentative settlement with BP for approximately $18.7 billion for the environmental and economic damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010.

Under terms of the agreement, the State of Florida will likely receive approximately $2 billion in economic claims, $680 million in Natural Resource Damages funding and at least $572 million in RESTORE Act funding.

Escambia County’s direct component of RESTORE Act funds would likely be approximately $58 million over the course of several years. That money is in addition to the $10.5 million Escambia County was already set to receive.

A majority of the settlement will go directly to the state of Florida to be used primarily for economic claims. At this time, Escambia County does not know how the state will appropriate that money.

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Information and Communications at (850) 595-3476 and follow @MyEscambia on Twitter.