U.S. AG: Gulf Claims Fund Too Slow

The fund oil firm BP set up to deal with compensation claims after last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill is working too slowly, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said recently.

The fund is not sufficiently transparent and requires too much documentation from claimants, said Holder after a visit to Orange Beach and Dauphin Island, both of which sustained oil damage during the three-month spill that began last April.

BP set up the $20 billion compensation fund a year ago under administrator Kenneth Feinberg.

BP estimates the total cost of capping the well, cleaning up the damage from America’s largest-ever offshore oil spill and compensating those affected will be more than $41 billion, including fines.

“Feinberg is well-intentioned but the pace it’s being done, the claims are not keeping pace with the recovery of this beautiful place,” said Holder, who renewed an assurance that taxpayers would not pay out because of the spill.

Topics USA Claims Energy Oil Gas