The Honorable Carl J. Barbier’s final settlement of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico of $20.8 billion, which includes the civil Clean Water Act penalties and additional funding for environmental damages and other claims by the five Gulf States, was granted final approval today. To view the Consent Decree, click here.
As part of the settlement, Escambia County is expected to receive about $70 million over 16 years in direct allocation from RESTORE. Escambia will also be eligible to apply for funding from other sources of oil spill funding, including Triumph and the Natural Environmental Resource Damage Assessment programs.
Chairman and District 4 Commissioner Grover Robinson was cautiously optimistic to see the process move forward after almost 6 years. He commented, “It appears that this is the final decision regarding the BP settlement and penalties. This order will begin to move monies associated with the BP settlement per the payment terms of that settlement. While the funding will never totally heal the damage done to our residents or our beaches, it will help us to continue to move forward and make a difference in Escambia County that has the potential to impact our community positively for generations.”
The settlement includes:
- $8.1 billion for natural resource damage
- $5.5 billion for Clean Water Act civil penalties
- Up to $700 million for future unknowns
- $350 million to reimburse state and federal assessment costs
- $250 million to reimburse response and removal costs
- The total restoration funds to the State of Florida includes $680 million in natural resource damage payments and $572 million in Florida RESTORE Act Allocations, which include:
- $308 million for Direct Component (Pot 1) funds to the Florida Counties
- $242 million for the Spill Impact Component (Pot 3) funds to the Consortium of 23 Counties
- $22 million for the Centers of Excellence
