FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
April 18, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL LUTHER STRANGE
Regarding Four-Year Anniversary of Oil Spill
(MONTGOMERY)–On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
exploded, pouring five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven men
lost their lives that day, and thousands of Gulf Coast residents lost their
livelihoods in the months that followed.
Four years later, the spill’s effects persist. Oil still lies off the Alabama
coastline. The State has yet to be compensated for its losses, just as
thousands of Alabamians have yet to be compensated for their own losses.
Many of our people settled with BP in 2012, only to watch BP back away from
the deal. Sadly, BP’s commitment to the Gulf still lies primarily in television
ads, not in reality.
When I took office in January 2011, I made it my top priority to hold BP
and its fellow defendants fully accountable under the law. As Coordinating
Counsel for the Gulf States, I worked with a team of attorneys to prove to a
federal judge in New Orleans that the gross negligence of BP, Transocean, and
Halliburton caused the Spill. I expect a ruling from that first trial soon. The
next trial, set for January 2015, will determine how much money BP owes the
federal government in civil penalties, a portion of which Alabama will receive
through the RESTORE Act. Shortly thereafter, Alabama will be the first state
to try its economic damages case in court, hopefully before a jury in
Montgomery.
I have not forgotten the 2010 spill, and I will not forget my commitment
to keep the pressure on all of those responsible for this spill. Millions of
Alabamians expect and deserve nothing less.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov