The U.S. government and five Gulf Coast states announced on October 5 that they will receive more than $20 billion after settling a civil lawsuit with BP for damages to the Gulf region after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The global settlement resolved the damage claims filed by the governments under the Clean Water Act and natural resources damage claims under the Oil Pollution Act. It also resolves economic damage claims by the states. The $5.5 billion Clean Water Act penalty, plus interest, is the largest civil penalty in the history of environmental law and 80 percent of that penalty will be directed to coastal restoration efforts outlined in the RESTORE Act. In addition, the $8.1 billion in penalties for natural resource damages will be directed toward restoration projects for coastal wetlands, marine mammals, fisheries restoration, and more. The five Gulf coast states will receive a total of $4.9 billion and several hundred local communities will receive up to a total of $1 billion for economic damages as a result of the spill. This settlement is in addition to several earlier criminal and civil settlements around the Deepwater Horizon spill including criminal fines and penalties paid in 2013 by BP totaling over $4 billion and $400 million in criminal fines and penalties by Transocean Deepwater, Inc. (the owner/operator of the Deepwater Horizon).

"Building on prior actions against BP and its subsidiaries by the Department of Justice, this historic resolution is a strong and fitting response to the worst environmental disaster in American history," said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. "BP is receiving the punishment it deserves, while also providing critical compensation for the injuries it caused to the environment and the economy of the Gulf region. I am proud that the Department of Justice has helped lead the way from tragedy to opportunity, and I am confident that our actions today will help to ensure that Gulf communities emerge from this disaster stronger and more resilient than ever before."