Oil spill liability trust fund

BP recently said that oil spill cleanup costs have exceeded $350 million, or $16 million per day, since the April 20 explosion that sank BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. A law passed in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska makes BP responsible for oil spill cleanup costs. But the law sets a $75 million limit on other kinds of damages, such as lost wages. As economic losses to the Gulf Coast appear likely to far exceed that amount, the Associated Press reports that several Democratic senators introduced legislation Monday to raise the oil spill liability limit to $10 billion. The federal government also maintains an Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund supported by oil industry fees. It can make a total of $1 billion in payouts per incident to individuals, businesses and governments.