BP To Put $20 Billion In Escrow For Oil Spill Payments

June 17, 2010

Facing increasing pressure to back up its public statements of support with real money, BP on Wednesday agreed to put $20 billion into escrow to pay for oil spill damage as the company-owned well continues to spew up to 60,000 barrels a day into the Gulf.

Less than a day after President Barack Obama addressed the nation on the environmental and economic catastrophe that is unfolding offshore, BP executives met with the president behind closed doors before announcing creation of the fund to aid businesses, individuals and governments affected by the biggest oil spill in US. history.

Meanwhile, Florida emergency response officials continued efforts Wednesday to prepare for significant coastal impacts that so far have not befallen the state despite major oil plumes looming ominously near Florida’s Panhandle coast.

State responders say they will increase deployment of Florida National Guard personnel as the state tries to assert itself more aggressively into the combined response effort that has taken heat for being too bureaucratic, disorganized and slow to act.

“We’re looking at recon assets, some air assets and some command and control assets out in the field,” David Halstead, director of the Division of Emergency Management, said of the Guard’s anticipated role.

Skimmers remain a priority of local, state and federal responders. Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday urged Obama to do all he could to make it easier to use foreign-flagged ships and foreign crews to assist in efforts to scoop up oil before it reaches shore.

Favorable winds and currents have been credited for keeping most of the oil off the coastline.

The federal government, Florida and BP are looking for more skimmers to keep the battle off shore, but it is highly unlikely that such efforts are going to keep state beaches oil-free, officials concede.

“We need to have reasonable expectations,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole cautioned responders Wednesday. “There is going to be an ongoing discharge probably through August or the middle of August that we’ll be fighting. So we are going to have impacts.”

Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg has been charged with overseeing the BP escrow account. He is well-schooled in such matters, having overseen payments to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and families of victims of the mass shooting that killed 32 at Virginia Tech in April 2007.

Florida officials have begun setting up procedures to gather the documentation needed to send BP a bill for lost local and state revenue. Halstead said a statewide claims representative will soon be housed at the state Emergency Operations Center to provide more information to local governments scrambling to get reimbursed for recovery efforts already undertaken.

“That should help us assist (local governments) in setting up claims and smoothing the waters a bit,” Halstead said.

So far, BP has paid 13,978 Florida claims, a 34 percent increase from a week ago. Payments for Florida claims now total $11.2 million, up 40 percent from a week ago.

The oil-spill focus Wednesday also went beyond the gulf coast. Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, pushed Crist to approve a request for $5.25 million in emergency aid to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau to help with marketing and advertising to offset an expanding slump in tourists.

“At a time when Florida’s economy is still reeling from the effects of the national economic downturn, it is imperative that we support efforts to spread the word to tourists that Miami-Dade County beaches are open for business,” Lopez-Cantera said.

By Michael Peltier
The News Service Of Florida

Comments

Comments are closed.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News