(06\/23\/2011)<\/p>\n
Paul Quinlan, E&E reporter<\/p>\n
Gulf state senators are said to be nearing a deal on how to divvy up
\nthe potentially $20 billion in penalties that could result from the
\nfederal government’s litigation of companies responsible for the
\nDeepwater Horizon oil spill.<\/p>\n
“We’re very close,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).<\/p>\n
Legislation could be brought to the Senate Environment and Public Works
\nCommittee soon for consideration, according to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-
\nCalif.), the committee chairwoman who is leading negotiations among
\nsenators from the region.<\/p>\n
“We are going to be having a markup on that around a couple weeks from
\nnow,” Boxer said today.<\/p>\n
There is widespread consensus within Congress and the Obama
\nadministration that Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas
\nshould receive the bulk of the money, since they bore the brunt of the
\nenvironmental and economic damage resulting from the April 2010 oil
\nspill in the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n
Capturing the money would require legislation to divert the funds
\nbefore they flow into a trust fund used to pay for future oil spill
\ncleanups or into the federal treasury.<\/p>\n
That could prove difficult. Any such bill to divert billions of dollars
\nto the Gulf states would also get slapped with a multibillion-dollar
\nprice tag by the Congressional Budget Office. That could be a tall
\nlegislative hurdle, given the growing anxieties on Capitol Hill over
\nthe federal deficit.<\/p>\n
“We’re fairly close to agreements that will provide some money for
\ndeficit reduction and some money to the Gulf Coast,” Landrieu said.<\/p>\n
To succeed, Gulf state lawmakers agree they will have to unite behind a
\nsingle bill — something that is also easier said than done. There are
\ndeep divisions among the region’s lawmakers about how a bill that would
\ncapture the money should divide it up among the states.<\/p>\n
“The bottom line is how to divide the money fairly between the Gulf
\nCoast states — that’s been the toughest, but we’re making progress,”
\nLandrieu said.<\/p>\n
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D), for example, has called for allocating
\nthe money, in part, based on a state’s total miles of shoreline, which
\nwould give Florida an advantage.<\/p>\n
Also being debated is how much money should be devoted to environmental
\nrestoration, such as wetlands-rebuilding projects, versus economic
\nrecovery, such as port dredging and construction of convention centers
\nor highway interchanges.<\/p>\n
Louisiana Sens. Landrieu (D) and David Vitter (R) filed a bill that
\nwould devote more money to the former, while Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.)
\nput forward legislation that favors the latter.<\/p>\n
“We’re working through all those issues, but we’re very close,”
\nLandrieu said.
\nReporter Jeremy P. Jacobs contributed.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(06\/23\/2011) Paul Quinlan, E&E reporter Gulf state senators are said to be nearing a deal on how to divvy up the potentially $20 billion in penalties that could result from the federal government’s litigation of companies responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “We’re very close,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). Legislation could be brought … Continue reading Energy & Environment: Gulf Coast senators nearing deal on splitting penalty funds<\/span>