STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
Phil Bryant, GOVERNOR
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Gary C. Rikard, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robbie Wilbur
October 5, 2015 601/961-5277
MDEQ Announces Two Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Documents Available for
Public Comment
Public Meeting in Mississippi October 20
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) announced today that two documents needed to forge the path forward
for Deepwater Horizon oil spill restoration plans on the Gulf Coast are now
available for public comment. Once approved, the total compensation to
offset injuries resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
disaster will reach at least $2.17 billion.
The Consent Decree, the Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan
(PDARP)/Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) are the two
documents available for public comment for the next 60 days.
"We have worked diligently with all parties to forge a path for the future
environmental and economic restoration of Mississippi. Thousands of
Mississippians have followed this journey of response, recovery and
restoration from the beginning and have faithfully engaged to provide a
vision for restoring Mississippi. We want to hear from the public on these
documents because their insight is invaluable and vital to the process,"
said Gary Rikard, MDEQ Executive Director.
Rikard serves as Mississippi's Trustee for the Natural Resource Damage
Assessment under the Oil Pollution Act and is tasked with leading
Mississippi's recovery from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Consent Decree details what BP must pay to the Gulf States and the
United States to resolve environmental claims, economic governmental claims
and civil penalties. It contains information on the proposed resolution of
natural resource damage claims (NRDA) and the state's economic loss claim
under the Oil Pollution Act. The Consent Decree also includes proposed
civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, of which 80 percent will be
directed to the Gulf States for environmental and economic restoration via
the RESTORE Act. This Consent Decree must be approved by the court before
any settlement is final and will only be finalized after the consideration
of public comments.
The Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (PDARP) and
companion Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) describes the
injury to the environment studied through the Natural Resource Damage
Assessment (NRDA) under the Oil Pollution Act. The PDARP/PEIS lays out the
restoration pathway to restore natural resources and services that were
injured and lost as a result of the oil spill. Once approved, additional
restoration plans will be developed that identify specific restoration
projects in Mississippi, the other Gulf States, and the Gulf of Mexico. It
will only be final if approved by the Court and after the parties take into
account public comment and review.
Following the public meetings and at the close of the public comment
period, the NRDA Trustees and the United States Department of Justice will
consider the input received on both documents, make appropriate
modifications and present the final documents to the Court for review and
approval.
The Consent Decree and PDARP/PEIS stem from the previously announced
Agreement in Principle that called for $1.5 billion in additional relief to
Mississippi to recover environmental and economic damages resulting from
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Combined with $659 million in early
funding, Mississippi is on tap to receive a minimum of nearly $2.17 billion
in compensation. Total global settlement values to resolve civil claims
under the Clean Water Act and natural resource damage claims under the Oil
Pollution Act, as well as remaining economic claims of the five Gulf States
and municipalities are worth more than $20 billion.
A meeting will be held on October 20 to allow the public the opportunity to
review these documents and to submit comments. It begins at 5:00 p.m. in
the FEC Auditorium at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast
campus, 730 East Beach Boulevard in Long Beach.
The documents and supplemental materials are available for review and
comment at www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. Comprehensive information
about all aspects of Mississippi's restoration efforts can be found at
www.restore.ms.
# # #
Mr. Robbie Wilbur
Communications Director
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Post Office Box 2261
Jackson, Mississippi 39225
601/961-5277
601/421-5699 (c)
rwilbur@deq.state.ms.us
@MDEQ
