Oil Spill Anniversary Spotlights Opportunity for Largest Restoration Effort in American History

04.20.2016 | In Hurricanes & Oil Spills, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact

Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org
Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org
Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org
Rachel Guillory, Ocean Conservancy, 504.208.5816, rguillory@oceanconservancy.org
Andrew Blejwas, The Nature Conservancy, 617.785.7047, ablejwas@tnc.org

OIL SPILL ANNIVERSARY SPOTLIGHTS OPPORTUNITY FOR LARGEST RESTORATION EFFORT IN AMERICAN HISTORY

(Washington, DC —April 20, 2016) Today marks the sixth anniversary of the Gulf oil disaster, which killed 11 men and began an oil spill that would dump more than 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier finalized the historic $20.8 billion settlement with BP – the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history – for the massive damages caused by the spill.

Groups working on Gulf restoration, including: Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Ocean Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy, issued the following statement:

“The opportunity to begin the biggest environmental restoration effort in American history is now a groundbreaking reality for the Gulf, following the finalization of the settlement with BP.

“In the aftermath of the spill, elected officials, state and federal agencies and residents across the Gulf worked together as never before to ensure passage of the RESTORE Act to benefit the ecosystems and communities of the region.

“We are eager to continue this work with both state and federal leaders to quickly update the RESTORE Act Comprehensive Plan, and advance restoration work.

“Restoring the Gulf wholly and correctly — and sooner rather than later — means that we’re fast tracking the region’s resilience, and protecting the people, wildlife and jobs across the Gulf for the benefit of the entire nation.”

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