Administration sends seventh bill to BP

Washington – On Thursday, Oct 14, the Obama Administration sent a seventh bill for $62.6 million to BP and other named responsible parties for response and recovery operations relating to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. To date, the Administration has sent these seven bills to BP and other responsible parties (Transocean, MOEX, and Andarko) for oil removal costs, of which the first six have been reimbursed in full by BP.

The responsible parties are financially liable for all costs associated with oil removal, including efforts to stop the leak at its source, reduce the spread of oil, protect the shoreline and mitigate damage to the public health or welfare.

To provide full transparency of the ongoing efforts and to ensure that the American public is not held accountable for the costs of response activities, the Federal Government bills responsible parties regularly for costs approved by the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to support Federal, State, and local removal efforts and ensure the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is reimbursed on an ongoing basis.

This is the seventh bill the Administration has sent to date. The first six bills have been paid in full by BP, totaling $518.4 million.

This invoice is based on specific Federal Government expenses that are subject to billing at this time, including expenses associated with the response of over two dozen Federal entities and agencies from four States, in accordance with the Federal On-Scene Coordinator request for assistance process. Federal response activities not subject to billing at this time, including future activities, will be billed to the responsible parties through subsequent invoices. In addition, these bills do not include any other costs for which BP and the other responsible parties are liable to any other party.

The United States Coast Guard is responsible for administering the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to ensure rapid response to oil spills, to compensate individuals and communities harmed by oil spills, and to ensure that the costs of response and cleanup are borne by the responsible parties.