U.S. Congress eases way for BP oil spill settlement
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday removed an obstacle to settling legal claims emerging from the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, when it approved a spending plan for the billions of dollars it expects the government to collect.
The plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign, directs 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties related to the spill to a new trust fund for restoration efforts in five states along the Gulf coast.
An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010 killed 11 workers and led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, with some analysts putting the cost at $60 billion (38.2 billion pounds) or more.
Officials involved in the spending plan said its approval would foster any settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and defendants BP Plc and Transocean Ltd, not for any legal reason but because of how Congress manages budget matters.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/29/uk-bp-settlement-idUKBRE85S1JZ20120629
= new reply since forum marked as read
Otherwise, officers of BP would be going to jail, and the company would be penalized more than just by paying a fine. Even in "Alice's Restaurant," Arlo and his buddy went to jail for littering.
