South Alabama Congressman expresses ‘serious concerns’ with $2.3 billion BP settlement

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July 2, 2015

(Photo: Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council)

MOBILE, Ala. — Alabama Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL1), whose district was the most affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, is voicing his “serious concerns” with the $2.3 billion settlement announced by state leaders Thursday morning.

The settlement, to be paid out over 18 years, will go toward economic and environmental recovery from the disaster, but will ultimately be appropriated through the state’s General Fund budget.

“I have serious concerns with today’s announced BP settlement,” Rep. Byrne stated Thursday afternoon. “The oil spill was a real tragedy that directly hit families, businesses, and local governments on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, and that’s why I believe it is critically important the settlement money flow directly to the Gulf Coast, not into other functions of the federal and state government.

Byrne argued the RESTORE Act passed by Congress to ensure BP paid for damages caused by the spill, sought to have those funds spent by the local communities on the Gulf Coast which were the most heavily impacted.

“Unfortunately,” Byrne lamented, “this settlement seems to steer money away from the RESTORE Act process and instead put large amounts of the settlement money under control of the federal government.”

“Communities on the Gulf Coast are the ones who were directly hit by this tragedy, and it would be a mistake to hand control over the settlement money to the state and federal governments instead of our local coastal communities.”

An estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf before the leak could be stopped, causing untold economic and environmental hardship on the area.

Governor Bentley and Attorney General Luther Strange each praised the settlement, saying it is a “significant step forward in our State and will become a stronger, safer and more resilient state as a result of this terrible disaster.”