BP has agreed to pay a record environmental fine of $18.7bn to settle legal actions brought by the US and several states over the fatal 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill that led to the death of eleven workers in April 2010 following an explosion on the BP-leased drillship in the Deepwater Horizon of the Mexico gulf area, according to The Guardian, UK.
The blast also caused a massive spill of crude oil, which choked wildlife and animals and washed up on beaches. It took BP 87 days to stop the flood of oil into the Gulf. The catastrophe sent shockwaves through U.S. energy policy and regulations that are still being felt today.
The US justice department, along with the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida, all sued BP for damages not covered by the company’s earlier settlements with businesses and individuals harmed by the worst offshore spill in US history.
Consequently, BP will be doling out $7.1 billion to Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and the federal government over the course of 15 years for environmental damages. The company will also pay a $5.5 billion civil penalty to the U.S. government under the Clean Water Act, the largest ever extracted under the law. $4.9 billion will be paid out to the five Gulf states to settle economic damages over an 18-year period. Finally, BP has also agreed to pay $1 billion to several hundred local government entities seeking damages from the spill.
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