BP to pay $350 million lump sum to settle Louisiana coastal lawsuits
Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana — Louisiana has agreed to accept a one-time $350 million payment from BP to settle the remaining amounts under the Deepwater Horizon disaster settlement agreement and end the parishes' coastal-damage lawsuits against the company. The arrangement was announced in a BP news release last Friday and reported by Louisiana media on Oct. 26.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed 11 workers and spilled about 168 million gallons of crude oil, polluting large areas of the Gulf Coast. The resulting settlement directed more than $6 billion to Louisiana; all but $373 million has been paid, which was originally to be paid in installments over the next seven years. The state has now chosen to take $350 million at once, in exchange for receiving the funds early and settling all remaining litigation.
Gov. Jeff Landry said in the release that Louisiana has resolved legacy litigation once considered unsolvable and reached settlements with all but one major defendant. A BP spokesperson said the terms are confidential but that the agreement resolves all coastal lawsuits and similar claims brought by the parishes and the state against BP. The president of Lafourche Parish said receiving the funds early is a major benefit for the large coastal projects the state is advancing.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 路易斯安那州议会大厦，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源 Wikimedia Commons
