Next Step toward Settlement with BP Reached

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Last month, the Trustees released the Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The plan includes an assessment of impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on natural resources and the services they provide. It also identifies the types of restoration needed to restore these resources and compensate the public.

We have now made a final decision to select the comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem restoration alternative evaluated in the plan as our approach for restoration implementation.

We have issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that explains our decision to pursue this approach. The ROD is an important step toward the larger global settlement with BP. The Department of Justice has filed a motion with the court overseeing the Deepwater Horizon litigation for approval of the global settlement. This settlement would resolve civil and natural resource damages claims against BP arising from the spill.

If the court approves the settlement, we can begin to develop project-specific restoration plans based on the guidelines established by the final plan.