Transocean to pay $1.4 billion in civil, criminal fines for 2010 Gulf spill
Transocean to pay $1.4 billion in civil, criminal fines for 2010 Gulf spill
By Zack Colman - 01/03/13 01:15 PM ET
Transocean Deepwater Inc. will pay $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
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ransocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf, agreed to a settlement by pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and to negligence charges.
This resolution of criminal allegations and civil claims against Transocean brings us one significant step closer to justice for the human, environmental and economic devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a Thursday statement.
The firm will pay a record $1 billion in civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. Under the Restore Act, which Congress passed last year, about 80 percent of the civil fines must go to Gulf states to fund environmental and economic restoration.
It also agreed to pay another $400 million in criminal fees to settle negligence charges. Of that total, $150 million of it will go to reconstructing marine and wildlife ecosystems in the Gulf region.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/275425-transocean-to-pay-14-billion-in-fines-for-2010-gulf-spill