WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department and five states on Monday announced a $20 billion final settlement of claims arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The deal, once approved by a judge, would resolve all civil claims against BP and end five years of legal fighting over the 134 million-gallon spill. It also would bind the company to a massive cleanup project in the Gulf Coast area aimed at restoring wildlife, habitat and water quality.
The settlement finalizes an agreement first announced in July. The next steps are a 60-day public comment period and court approval.
In a statement, BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the settlement total announced Monday includes amounts previously spent or disclosed by the company.
Among other requirements, BP would have to pay $5.5 billion in Clean Water Act penalties and nearly $5 billion to five Gulf states: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The company would also be required to pay $8.1 billion in natural resource damages, with funds going toward Gulf restoration projects such as support for coastal wetland and fish and birds.
An additional $600 million would cover other costs, such as federal and state reimbursement claims. And up to $1 billion would go to local governments to settle claims for economic damage from the spill.
A coalition of conservation organizations, including the National Audubon Society and the Environmental Defense Fund, praised the settlement in a joint statement. The groups said that while the full damage of the oil spill may not yet be known, the process "will help bring the Gulf back to the state it was before the spill, and the release of this plan is a positive step toward that end."
The spill followed the April 2010 explosion on an offshore rig that killed 11 workers. BP earlier settled with people and businesses harmed by the spill, a deal that's so far resulted in $5.84 billion in payouts.
A report by Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustees called the oil spill damages "unprecedented." It found that deep ocean water currents carried oil from the spill hundreds of miles from the blown-out well.