FYI – U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) has said he has concerns with the government’s proposed settlement with BP. He raised those concerns in a letter he sent to Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Following is the text of his letter:
July 31, 2015
Loretta Lynch
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Lynch,
As you negotiate the details of a settlement with BP for the damage it caused to the Gulf of Mexico in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I’m writing to share some concerns.
First, given the size and scope of this proposed settlement, I urge you to get details out to the public and open up a comment period as soon as possible. The figures in the agreement in principle, and in fact the confidentiality agreement itself, were all negotiated outside of the public eye. The Department of Justice has agreed that BP will pay a civil Clean Water Act fine of only $1,724 per barrel of crude spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. This falls far short of the $4300 per barrel maximum fine faced by BP for gross negligence and willful misconduct. Residents, community leaders, businesses, and interested parties ought to be able to comment on the deal made on their behalf. Specifically, I request that you schedule at least one public meeting in Florida and provide transparency as to how the parties determined the terms of the agreement.
Second, based on the information provided by the Department of Justice, it is my understanding that $8.1 billion of the proposed BP settlement will be Natural Resource Damage Assessment dollars. These funds can serve as a tax write-off for “ordinary business expense(s).†BP should not be allowed to claim a tax deduction for these dollars, and the final settlement should reflect that.
Last, we all want a clean, healthy, and restored Gulf. But even five years later, we still do not know the extent of the damage caused by the millions of barrels of oil spilled. The final settlement should account for this uncertainty and, should we learn that the Gulf environment is harmed more than we realize today, the settlement must be reopened to compensate for the additional damage. Though the agreement in principle includes $700 million to address future harm, there is no guarantee that long-term impacts won’t far exceed that number. After the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, the natural resource trustees discovered additional harm in Prince William Sound— but the reopener clause in that settlement was unsuccessful. It is critical that we not repeat that mistake. Any settlement with BP should include a strong provision to fully address future damage.
Thank you for your consideration of these requests.
Sincerely,