Now that a $750 million settlement has been made available for areas of Mississippi that were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, Mississippi legislators are having difficulty agreeing on what to do with the money. The issue of how the money should be divided up is sure to be a major topic during the 2017 legislative session. Some legislators believe that all of the funds should be spent on coastal areas, as those were the places that were hardest hit by the disaster. Others would like to see some of the money go to the central and northern parts of the state, in addition to the coast.
The state of Mississippi received the first $150 million of the settlement in late June. When the money came in, the Legislature committed about $46 million of it for projects on the Gulf Coast, much of which will take place at the University of Southern Mississippi and Gulf Coast Community College. Proponents of an approach that would share some of the funds with other parts of the state say that those areas also lost sales tax revenue and experienced other economic consequences as the result of the oil spill, albeit not to the same extent as the coastal communities.
There are all kinds of other views on how the money should be spent, including that it’s not possible to make any kind of decision about that yet. The $750 million economic damages settlement is one part of the $2.2 billion dollar total settlement that was negotiated with BP. Much of the money from the general settlement is being used for rehabilitation projects along the Gulf Coast.
If Mississippi needs other ideas to consider regarding how to allocate the settlement funds, it can look to its neighbor to the east. Alabama lawmakers have approved a compromise plan to spend much of that state’s $1 billion BP oil spill settlement on highway infrastructure, Medicaid, and retiring state debt in two its Gulf Coast counties. The plan that Alabama has made for its settlement money could serve as a template for how Mississippi lawmakers could choose to spend that state’s BP settlement funds. It will be interesting to see how the state decides to distribute its BP oil spill settlement money if the powers that be can ever agree on how to spend it.
Barrett Law PLLC: BP Oil Spill Attorneys Helping Mississippi Oil Spill Victims
The BP oil spill caused a lot of economic damage to the Gulf Coast and throughout the state. If you have suffered economic damage as the result of the oil spill, the Mississippi BP Oil Spill Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC may be able to help you. Our experienced attorneys have assisted many oil spill victims, and we are here to help you. Call the compassionate and dedicated oil spill attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577, to schedule your free, initial consultation.
