Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig where 11 men died in April 2010, has agreed to pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil penalties to resolve Justice Department allegations over its role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig where 11 men died in April 2010, has agreed to pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil penalties to resolve Justice Department allegations over its role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
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A Transocean subsidiary also agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal misdemeanor charge for violating the Clean Water Act. Federal authorities blamed the company for acting negligently when the rig's crew proceeded with maneuvers to the deep-sea well in the face of clear danger signals that oil and natural gas were flowing. Transocean will operate under a form of corporate probation. A federal judge still needs to approve the plea agreement.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the deal "brings us one significant step closer to justice for the human, environmental and economic devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon disaster."
Under the terms of the agreement, Transocean will pay $400 million in criminal penalties, most of which will be transferred to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company also agreed to turn over $1 billion in civil penalties, 80 percent of which could go to fund projects in the Gulf states under legislation passed by Congress in 2012 called the RESTORE Act.
In a written statement, Transocean said the deal is "in the best interest of its shareholders and employees" and will "remove much of the uncertainty associated with the accident."
Article continues at NPR Topics: Environment
Image credit: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace
