Louisiana to receive a minimum $6.8 billion for state claims related to BP oil spill

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BATON ROUGE — Today the Court approved the settlement between the United States, the five Gulf States and BP for damages stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Court approved Consent Decree outlines more than $20 billion in damages. Louisiana will receive a minimum of $6.8 billion for claims related to natural resource damages under the Oil Pollution Act, Clean Water Act civil penalties, and the State’s various economic claims.

“Today’s announcement is welcomed news for Louisiana,” said Johnny Bradberry, Governor John Bel Edwards’ executive assistant for coastal activities. “The finalization of the settlement provides certainty regarding the timing and availability of funding needed to move forward with significant recovery efforts. We will continue working with the utmost sense of urgency and engaging with our federal partners and the public to get critical projects on the ground as quickly as possible.”

 

The Court’s approval of the Consent Decree finalizes the agreement in principle announced in July of 2015 and allows Louisiana to move forward with identifying and implementing projects. This settlement combined with prior Deepwater Horizon-related settlements translates into approximately $8.7 billion for Louisiana coastal restoration.

 

Under the terms of the Consent Decree, BP will pay the following:
  • Up to $8.8 billion for natural resource damages (includes $1 billion in early restoration projects);
  • $5.5 billion for Clean Water Act civil penalties (plus interest; subject to the RESTORE Act); and
  • $600 million for other claims.
Additionally, BP will pay $4.9 billion to the Gulf States in a parallel settlement that resolves their economic damage claims arising from this incident. In other, related agreements, BP also will pay up to another $1 billion to resolve similar claims the company faces from various local governments in the Gulf region.
A breakdown of the Louisiana share of these funds is as follows:
  • A minimum of $5 billion for natural resource damages (includes $368 million previously allocated for early restoration projects);
  • A minimum of approximately $787 million for Clean Water Act civil penalties (subject to the RESTORE Act); and
  • $1 billion for state economic damages.

    Governor John Bel Edwards released the following statement on a federal court’s approval of the BP settlement. This decision clears the way for Louisiana to receive critical coastal restoration funding and provide immediate assistance to close the current fiscal year’s budget deficit. 

    “This is great news for the people of Louisiana. The BP oil spill nearly crippled our state and did damage to our coast and communities that will take years to rectify. I am pleased with the court’s decision to bring this issue to a close. Louisiana is in a race against time when it comes to saving our coast. Today’s decision enables us to continue making critical investments in our coast, and equally important, to keep the funding in place needed to close the current fiscal year’s budget deficit. I appreciate the work of everyone involved in this case.”