BP agrees to $18.7 billion settlement over 2010 Deepwater oil spill

In the largest environmental settlement in history, BP has reached agreements with federal, state, and local governments for an $18.7 billion settlement of civil claims arising from the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – the largest environmental disaster in our nation’s history – the Justice Department has been fully committed to holding BP accountable, to achieving justice for the American people, and to restoring the environment and the economy of the Gulf region at the expense of those responsible and not the American taxpayer,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.

“If approved by the court, this settlement would be the largest settlement with a single entity in American history,” Lynch said. “It would help repair the damage done to the Gulf economy, fisheries, wetlands, and wildlife; and it would bring lasting benefits to the Gulf region for generations to come.

In the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 11 people were killed, and in November 2012, BP pleaded guilty to 11 felony manslaughter charges, as well as environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress. BP was sentenced to paying $4 billion from the initial charges.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

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