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HOUSTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday it reached a settlement with British energy company BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in July said both parties reached an agreement in principle to settle civil claims for the spill. If agreed to, the estimated $18.7 billion would be the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history.
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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees announced a "comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf of Mexico."
"The draft plan allocates funds from a proposed settlement with BP of up to $8.8 billion for natural resource injuries stemming from the spill," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agency said in a statement.
The draft plan hopes to meet five restoration goals: restore and conserve habitat; restore water quality; replenish and protect living coastal and marine resources; provide and enhance recreational opportunities; and support restoration implementation by providing monitoring, adaptive management and administrative oversight.
The restoration types affected by the proposed goals are included for wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats; habitat projects on federally managed lands; and submerged aquatic vegetation.
The plans also aim to improve the ecosystem through restoring the habitats for oysters, sea turtles, birds, marine mammals and fish, and water column invertebrates.
BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said Monday's announcement brings the company one step closer to "fulfilling our commitment to help restore the gulf economy and environment."
He clarified that the new decree doesn't reflect any additional monetary payments to be made by BP.
"The government has announced a number that includes amounts previously spent or disclosed by BP. As BP said in July, this settlement resolves the largest litigation liabilities remaining from the tragic accident, providing BP certainty with respect to its financial obligations and allowing us to focus on safely delivering the energy the world needs," he said in a statement emailed to UPI.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in one of the final decisions of the previous term, refused to hear two separate cases filed by BP and Anadarko Petroleum challenging fines related to the spill.
Today, 11am: AG @LorettaLynch, fed partners to announce BP settlement, #GulfRestoration plan http://t.co/gJS7W44UgC
Advertisement— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) October 5, 2015The nation's highest court let stand a decision from a New Orleans court, which in June 2014 said the companies are liable for penalties under the Clean Water Act.
The cases filed against the federal government by BP and Anadarko were Nos. 14-1217 and 14-1167, respectively. Anadarko held a minority stake in the Macondo well beneath the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled last year that BP released 3.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, about 1 million barrels less than the government estimated.
BP said in an early 2015 statement it suspected the penalty would be "at the lower end of the statutory range."
The district court ruled in September that BP's activities at the Macondo well beneath the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico amounted to willful misconduct
The spill left 11 rig workers dead. A cascading series of failures at the Macondo well resulted in the worst incident of its kind in the history of the industry.
