Overnight Energy: Feds finalize BP settlement

by Timothy Cama and Devin Henry - 10/05/15 5:53 PM ET

A RECORD SETTLEMENT: Federal officials finalized an over $20 billion deal with BP on Monday to settle lawsuits stemming from the company’s 2010 oil spill.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch and a host of cabinet secretaries shared the settlement on Monday, more than three months after announcing the deal this summer.

“This resolution is strong and fitting,” Lynch said. “BP is receiving the punishment it deserves while also providing critical compensation to the damage to the Gulf region.”

{mosads}Under the settlement, BP will spend $5.5 million to settle Clean Water Act claims, $7.1 million for environmental restoration work, and $5.9 million to state and local governments affected by the spill.

Officials also announced a Gulf of Mexico restoration fund, which will put BP money to work on coastal and habitat repair, water quality improvement in wetlands and recreational projects.

The settlement was less than the maximum fine BP could have owed. But Lynch said the final deal was an appropriate response.

“This is still the largest environmental penalty under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act, ever,” she said.

Read more here.

ON TAP TUESDAY I: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

ON TAP TUESDAY II: The North American Gas Forum will wrap up Tuesday with a schedule that includes a keynote address by Tony Clark, a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) will also speak, as will Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.).

Rest of Tuesday’s agenda …

The Energy Information Administration’s Howard Gruenspecht will present the agency’s winter fuels outlook Tuesday at the National Press Club.

AROUND THE WEB:

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is considering turning to Twitter to improve its international image, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Citigroup Inc. is pledging various steps to reduce its financing of coal mining, Bloomberg Business reports.

Federal officials in Canada are concerned about Montreal’s plans to dump 8 billion liters of sewage into the St. Lawrence River, CBC News reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Monday’s stories …

-Court rules against EPA’s invasive species rule
-House Dems press for Volkswagen emission hearing
-West Virginia sues VW over emissions scandal
-Obama doubles down on Arctic drilling regs
-Feds, BP reach $20B settlement over Gulf spill
-Obama proposes two marine sanctuaries
-Obama’s ozone evolution
-Week ahead: House to vote on crude oil ban