SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Judge Approves Historic $20 Billion Settlement for 2010 BP Oil Spill
Judge Carl Barbier had previously slammed BP for its 'grossly negligent' role in the Deepwater Horizon spill
Apr 04, 2016
Developing story...
A federal judge in New Orleans on Monday gave final approval to a historic $20 billion settlement in the years-long legal battle over the 2010 BP oil spill that killed 11 workers and devastated coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Monday's settlement finalizes an agreement that was announced in July. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier had previously said the fossil fuel giant had played a "grossly negligent" role in the disaster.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement includes "$5.5 billion in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five Gulf states and local governments. The money is to be paid out over a 16-year period."
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that it will cost BP as much as $20.8 billion, while the company says other related expenses, such as cleaning efforts and various other settlements, will exceed $53 billion.
David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the DOJ's environmental crimes agency, told the AP that the ruling "ends a long, sad chapter in American environmental history."
"The question that remains is whether we have learned enough from this tragedy to prevent similar environmental disasters in the future," he said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
big oilbritish petroleum (bp)clean water actcriminal justice systemenvironmentfossil fuelsnew orleansus department of justice
Developing story...
A federal judge in New Orleans on Monday gave final approval to a historic $20 billion settlement in the years-long legal battle over the 2010 BP oil spill that killed 11 workers and devastated coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Monday's settlement finalizes an agreement that was announced in July. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier had previously said the fossil fuel giant had played a "grossly negligent" role in the disaster.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement includes "$5.5 billion in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five Gulf states and local governments. The money is to be paid out over a 16-year period."
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that it will cost BP as much as $20.8 billion, while the company says other related expenses, such as cleaning efforts and various other settlements, will exceed $53 billion.
David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the DOJ's environmental crimes agency, told the AP that the ruling "ends a long, sad chapter in American environmental history."
"The question that remains is whether we have learned enough from this tragedy to prevent similar environmental disasters in the future," he said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Developing story...
A federal judge in New Orleans on Monday gave final approval to a historic $20 billion settlement in the years-long legal battle over the 2010 BP oil spill that killed 11 workers and devastated coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Monday's settlement finalizes an agreement that was announced in July. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier had previously said the fossil fuel giant had played a "grossly negligent" role in the disaster.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement includes "$5.5 billion in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five Gulf states and local governments. The money is to be paid out over a 16-year period."
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that it will cost BP as much as $20.8 billion, while the company says other related expenses, such as cleaning efforts and various other settlements, will exceed $53 billion.
David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the DOJ's environmental crimes agency, told the AP that the ruling "ends a long, sad chapter in American environmental history."
"The question that remains is whether we have learned enough from this tragedy to prevent similar environmental disasters in the future," he said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.