WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) amd Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today welcomed a settlement agreement on civil claims arising from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a $20.8 billion pact that will benefit Mississippi directly.

Mississippi, along with Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, and Florida, the Justice Department and other federal agencies on Monday announced the proposed consent decree to settle civil claims arising from the spill and its aftermath.

“This final settlement should help close a difficult chapter in our state’s history,” Wicker said. “Mississippi is poised to put its share of the money to good use, implementing the necessary projects to address both economic and environmental setbacks. A full recovery will not happen overnight, but we are well on our way toward ensuring that the Coast is made whole.”

“The BP oil spill is among the worst disasters to affect Mississippi, the environment and livelihoods of our people.  This settlement is a significant step toward righting that wrong, and allowing our state to move forward with remediation and recovery,” said Cochran.  “Negotiating these settlements has been a long process, but we’ve worked to ensure that Mississippi is in the best position to recover and recover well.”

Within the settlement, BP is required to pay $5.5 billion, plus interest, as a civil penalty under the Clean Water Act.  As stipulated in the RESTORE Act of 2012, which Cochran and Wicker helped write, 80 percent of this penalty will go to Gulf Coast states for environmental restoration, economic recovery and Gulf seafood promotion.

The company must also pay another $8.1 billion in natural resources damages, which will be allocated to the five Gulf Coast states affected by the disaster.  It will also pay up to $700 million in accrued interest to address long-term environmental problems that arise from the spill.  Another $600 million is due to settle other claims, including unreimbursed costs to states and the federal government.

Additional settlements with the states and local communities, along with payments associated with earlier settlements reached since 2012, will resolve the civil claims.  The final total of $20.8 billion exceeds an assumed $18.7 billion settlement projected in July.

The proposed consent decree will be published in the Federal Register and open to public review and comment for 60 days afterward.  That document may be found at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon.  The materials and instructions for commenting can be found at www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

Last week, Wicker and Cochran encouraged Mississippians to participate in a month-long public comment period on a proposed rule regarding the distribution and use of settlement funds derived from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  The public comment period on this aspect of the BP oil spill process is open until midnight Oct. 28, 2015.

LINK

• Fact Sheet on Proposed Consent Decree:  http://1.usa.gov/1VBY8rh
• Draft Restoration Plan for the Gulf of Mexico:  http://1.usa.gov/1WJ4IhU