BP Pays The Price

Sea turtle experts use soft cotton swabs to wipe oil from the head and eyes of sea turtles.

Photo credit: UC Davis

 

After many court cases and hearings, a verdict has been reached in regards to the BP oil spill. Back in April of 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon well burst, sending oiling pouring into the Gulf of Mexico for three months. Along with 11 workers that were killed from this incident, a large amount of wildlife including fish, birds, and endangered species such as sea turtles and sperm whales was also killed. Of the charges BP faced, each loss of human life resulted in one felony. The company will also plead guilty to one count of obstruction of congress, and one misdemeanor count under the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor count under the Migratory Bird Treaty.

An article released today from CNN Money stated that BP plead guilty to a dozen felony charges stemming from the oil spill. BP also agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government charges. Along with this, BP’s criminal fine was totaled out at $1.256 billion in the case, which is the largest in U.S. history. The $4.5 billion agreement that BP has made also comes on top of the already $20 billion that the company has agreed to pay into a trust fund to meet damage claims from the spill.

So where will all of this money go? A large portion of the money will resolve criminal charges and an additional $525 million will be paid to resolve claims brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Along with this, $350 million will go to the National Academy of Science.

Even with all of the billions of dollars in fines that BP will pay, you cannot put a price tag on the lives, and the environmental impacts of such a large oil spill. Effects are still being seen on the Gulf, and will continue for quite some time. And the emotional effects will still be there forever, as mother Arlene Weise stated, “It [the money] doesn’t bring my boy back.” Arlene lost her 24 year old son on the rig the day of the explosion.

 

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BP To Pay Record Penalty For Gulf Oil Spill