Fish and Wildlife Foundation to Administer Deepwater Horizon Funds

A federal court judge accepted a plea agreement with Transocean on Thursday over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in which the company would pay $150 million in settlement funds. Those funds will be administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation . Here are the details.

* The settlement resolves criminal charges against Transocean as a result of the explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the foundation stated.

* The Transcocean funds will be paid over a two-year period and will be used "to protect and preserve the natural resources of the Gulf Coast that suffered from the spill," stated Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

* According to the agreement , Transocean waived prosecution and pleaded guilty to negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico in violation of the Clean Water Act.

* Transocean contracted to provide BP with a mobile offshore drilling unit and crew to implement BP's drilling plan for the Macondo Well, the agreement states. Transocean and BP had the joint duty to maintain control of the well and to conduct safe drilling and rig operations.

* On April 20, 2010, personnel for both BP and Transocean aboard the Deepwater Horizon failed to complete an investigation into a known pressure build up in a drill pipe at the Macondo Well. The pressure build up led to a blowout that caused natural gas and oil to spread across the rig floor and ignite, the agreement stated. Oil and natural gas began flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

* In addition to the $150 million paid to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, an additional $150 million will be paid by Transocean to the National Academy of Sciences for the purposes of oil spill prevention and response in the Gulf of Mexico, the agreement stated.

* According to a joint memorandum to the court provided by the Justice Department and Transocean, nine of the 11 workers who died aboard the Deepwater Horizon were employees of Transocean.

* The fine against Transocean is the second-highest criminal environmental recovery in U.S. history, behind only BP's recent settlement for the same incident, the memo stated.

* The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will also administer the nearly $2.4 billion from a recently approved plea agreement between BP and the Justice Department. Those funds will be paid over a five-year period.

* According to the settlements for both Transocean and BP, half of the funds will be received by Louisiana for restoration of barrier islands off the coast and river diversion projects on the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers to help build marshlands. The rest of the money will be divided among the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fish-wildlife-foundation-administer-deepwater-horizon-funds-211800101.html

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