Yesterday, Oct 4, Kenneth Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), announced that geographic proximity to the BP oil spill would not prevent a legitimate individual or business claim from being processed. “I have heard from elected officials in Florida, including Governor Crist, Attorney General McCollum, CFO Sink, and others, about their concerns regarding Floridians’ proximity to the spill and how, regardless of distance, there has been economic impact beyond the areas closest to the spill. After listening to these concerns, I have concluded that a geographic test to determine eligibility regarding economic harm due to the oil spill is unwarranted.”
Feinberg continues to review each claim on a case-by-case basis and claimants must prove damages resulting from the spill itself and not other causes, but “physical proximity from the spill will not, in and of itself, bar the processing of legitimate claims”, he said.
In six weeks, since the facility has been up and running, the GCCF has paid out close to one billion dollars to 50,000 individual and business claims throughout the Gulf.
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