In Final BP Deal, Texas to Get $800 Million for Gulf
Texas and four other Gulf Coast states have reached a final settlement with BP stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the U.S. Department of Justice and states announced Monday.
The $20.8 billion deal is the largest settlement with a single entity in American history and includes the largest civil penalty in the history of environmental law. It resolves all state claims against the company for its role in the disaster, which killed 11 people and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Texas share totals more than $800 million in money and restoration projects. Combined with previous settlements, Texas will have received more than $1 billion to rejuvenate and bolster resources along the Gulf, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.
“The disaster of Deepwater Horizon was a tragedy that touched people’s lives all along the Gulf Coast, from those who love its natural beauty and wildlife, to those who make their living from the water,” Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement. “This agreement will help restore our natural resources and strengthen the communities that rely on them. Texas as a whole will benefit from this settlement.”
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/10/05/final-bp-deal-texas-get-800-million-gulf/