A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval 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 nation’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 US Justice Department has estimated that the settlement will cost the oil giant as much as $20.8 billion, the largest environmental settlement in US history as well as the largest-ever civil settlement with a single entity.
US District Judge Carl Barbier, who approved the settlement, had set the stage with an earlier ruling that BP had been ‘grossly negligent’ in the offshore rig explosion that killed 11 workers and caused a 134-million-gallon spill.
Find out more:
AP – US judge OKs $20B settlement from 2010 BP oil spill
Reuters – U.S. judge approves BP settlement for 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
