Thread by @bethanykraft

With so much going on in the world with #covid19, I contemplated ending my #dwhstories a few weeks early--here is so much else to focus on. However, work continues on restoration, so I want to finish up this little project in the hopes that it can be useful to folks #dwhoilspill

Settlements…Money…Restoration Oh My! The #oilspill resulted in numerous settlements & the assessment of nearly $20.8 billion in fines and penalties. So, who gets the money and for what? If only there was a simple answer!

Everything about the oil spill was complicated, including funding for economic & environmental recovery. These flow charts from @ourocean don't have current names but the processes are outlined well. preview.tinyurl.com/w5woeyz

A landmark piece of bipartisan (!!!) legislation, the RESTORE Act directed 80$ of Clean Water Act fines and penalties to a Gulf Coast Trust Fund, a total of $5.3 billion. This money is divided into 5 “buckets” with different sets of decision-makers and authorized uses..

But wait! There’s more. The U.S. Govt also built a Clean Water Act criminal case against BP In 2012, BP pled guilty to 14 felonies, with fines totaling $4 billion. Transocean also pled guilty in 2013, and paid $300 million. Half of these fines went to the Gulf.

$500 million went to to the National Academies of Science, creating the 30 year Gulf Research Program.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation received $2.54 Billion to create the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, which is used for ecosystem restoration projects in the Gulf.

BP also agreed to pay damages related to the injuries to the natural resources of the Gulf, and humans’ enjoyment of those resources. This money totals $8.8 billion, $1 billion of which was paid in 2011 as part of the Early Restoration Framework.

There are a few other funding programs, but they are not as substantial, so I won’t cover them today.