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US Judge OKs $20B Settlement From 2010 BP Oil Spill

April 6, 2016 โ€” A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval Monday to an estimated $20 billion settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resolving years of litigation over the worst offshore spill in the nationโ€™s history.

The settlement, first announced in July, 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 roughly 16 years. The U.S. Justice Department has estimated that the settlement will cost the oil giant as much as $20.8 billion, the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history as well as the largest-ever civil settlement with a single entity.

U.S District Judge Carl Barbier, who approved the settlement, had set the stage with an earlier ruling that BP had been โ€œgrossly negligentโ€ in the offshore rig explosion that killed 11 workers and caused a 134-million-gallon spill.

In 2012, BP reached a similar settlement agreement with private attorneys for businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money. That deal, which didnโ€™t have a cap, led to a protracted court battle over subsequent payouts to businesses. A court-supervised claims administrator is still processing many of these claims.

BP has estimated its costs related to the spill, including its initial cleanup work and the various settlements and criminal and civil penalties, will exceed $53 billion.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

Double Disasters Leave An Alabama Fishing Village Struggling

August 19, 2015 โ€” The people of Bayou la Batre, Ala., say you know their town by the four seasons.

โ€œShrimp, fish, crab and oyster,โ€ says Stephanie Nelson Bosarge. โ€œThatโ€™s your four seasons.โ€

Bosarge grew up here in a house less than a thousand feet from the water โ€” one of nine kids, the fourth generation to work in the seafood industry.

Today all thatโ€™s left of the house is a concrete slab. Grass and weeds are creeping up over whatโ€™s left of the oyster run, where a conveyor belt once carried shells between the shuckers.

โ€œThis is living proof right here,โ€ says Paul Nelson, Bosargeโ€™s brother, โ€œthat the grass grows over and people forget about what was here, what was raised here, what was done here.โ€

The Impact Of Katrina

Hurricane Katrina sent nearly 14 feet of water into Bayou la Batre, inundating homes and businesses. Rebuilding was out of reach. Insurance paid off debt, but there wasnโ€™t enough left to start again.

โ€œBefore Katrina, everything was a struggle. After Katrina, everything was impossible,โ€ Bosarge says.

Read the full story at New York NOW

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