State rebuilt 5.1 square miles of coast with $500M in fines since BP Deepwater Horizon
Just four days before the ninth anniversary of the catastrophic BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, state coastal officials outlined how they are using the disaster’s silver lining – billions of dollars in fines and other payments – to rebuild 5.1 square miles of the state’s eroding coastline.
About $510 million paid by BP and its partners for their roles involving BP’s failed Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico already has been used to complete restoration work on seven major projects, Greg Gandy, deputy executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, told authority board members on Wednesday (April 17). And another $6.8 billion will be used on dozens of other projects through 2032, the deadline for the companies to pay money owed under various court settlement agreements.
“Even though this is just a start, what we’ve done so far without any Louisiana taxpayers’ dollars is impressive, and there is much more to come,” Grandy told the board. “But let’s never forget why we’re getting this funding and why we need it. The loss of life suffered on that rig, and the oil that flowed into the Gulf for months was devastating to our people, our environment, our economy, our fisheries and wildlife. There is much to remedy, and we are working hard to do just that.”
The state receives money from a variety of funding streams stemming from legal action taken against BP and its partners after the accident:
Criminal penalties totaling $1.272 billion, overseen by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, must be used for either rebuilding barrier islands or the construction and design of major sediment diversions on the Mississippi River by the terms of the criminal settlements with BP and Transocean.
Much more: https://www.nola.com/environment/2019/04/state-rebuilt-51-square-miles-of-coast-with-500m-in-fines-since-bp-deepwater-horizon.html?outputType=amp
The wetland area in the photo was created as part of the Lake Hermitage Phase 2 marsh creation project in Plaquemines Parish, paid for with $14.2 million of Natural Resource Damage Assessment money from BP in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill.
