British Petroleum Ltd. will pay nearly $3.9 million in restoration and settlement costs in connection with a 1990 tanker accident that spilled 400,000 gal of oil off southern California.
The settlement resolves federal natural resource damage claims stemming from the Feb. 7, 1990, accident when the BP's American Trader tanker ran aground and spilled oil that covered 60 sq miles of ocean, fouling wildlife habitats and shoreline between Seal Beach and Laguna Beach, Calif.
The U.S. Department of justice, Interior Department, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration disclosed the settlement.
Most of the money will go to wildlife restoration projects, while the rest will reimburse state and local authorities for costs they incurred responding to the spill. BP also has participated in a $35 million cleanup of contaminated beaches.
The consent decree requires BP to pay $3,894,247, of which $2,484,567 will go to improve or protect the habitat of birds and fish affected by the spill, particularly the brown pelican.
More than 100 brown pelicans, an endangered species, died after the spill.
BP was sued in federal and state courts. The consent decree, which resolves all litigation, requires approval by the courts involved.
BP was the first defendant in the suits to reach a settlement with federal and state governments. Other settlements were negotiated while the BP deal was pending, including a $2.1 million settlement with the TransAlaska Pipeline Liability Fund to pay the federal government for cleanup costs.
California and local governments will continue to pursue state lawsuits for beach closures and other liabilities against other defendants, including tanker owner Attransco Inc., offshore terminal owner Golden West Refining Co., the Trans-Alaska Liability Fund, and Brandenburger Marine Inc., the company that supplied the pilot for the tanker.
Copyright 1995 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
