Treasury takes step toward oil spill trust fund for allocating RESTORE Act funds
August 14, 2014adminBusiness, NewsComments Off on Treasury takes step toward oil spill trust fund for allocating RESTORE Act funds
In this April 21, 2010 file image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. British oil company BP said Thursday Nov. 15, 2012 it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling criminal and other claims from the Gulf of Mexico well blowout two years ago. In a statement, BP said "no final agreement has yet been reached" and that any such deal would still be subject to court approvals. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)
In this April 21, 2010 file image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. British oil company BP said Thursday Nov. 15, 2012 it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling criminal and other claims from the Gulf of Mexico well blowout two years ago. In a statement, BP said “no final agreement has yet been reached” and that any such deal would still be subject to court approvals. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Treasury has set out 97 pages of rules for investing and allocating money that BP PLC and other defendants will pay in Clean Water Act fines for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010.
The rules released Wednesday formally set up a trust fund for money that state and local governments will get under the RESTORE Act and procedures for getting that money.
The total is expected to be billions of dollars, but nobody knows what it will be.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier has scheduled the third of three trials on the question in January.
The trust fund will get 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties. The rest go to a trust fund to cover the cost of future oil spills.
