Today, the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustees released a Draft Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and a related Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. These documents will include previously unreleased information on the impacts of the oil spill. Simultaneously, the Justice Department and the five Gulf states made public the legal terms of the consent decree regarding the $20.8 billion settlement agreement regarding BP’s responsibility for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
 
All of these documents are open for public comment and can be downloaded at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon. NWF staff will examine the consent decree, the damage assessment, and the environmental impact statement in depth.

Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation made the following statement:
 
"This federal assessment shines greater light on the Deepwater Horizon’s impacts on wildlife and their habitats. These findings demonstrate the need to spend the $16 billion in criminal penalties, the RESTORE Act dollars, and the Oil Pollution Act fines on ecological restoration projects in the Gulf. Maximizing the impact of every available dollar requires proactive planning and coordination. With finalization of the settlement imminent, it is critical that the RESTORE Council update its comprehensive plan to set forth an inspiring and detailed roadmap for restoring the Gulf. Together, we can restore this incomparable ecological jewel and economic engine to improve its health and resilience for future generations.”
 




















Additional Resources

Five Years and Counting

Read more about NWF's most recent Gulf report.