Transocean penalties a step forward for unprecedented restoration efforts

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gulf restoration and economic development groups lauded the announcement today from the Department of Justice that it has reached an historic settlement with Transocean for its role in the 2010 Gulf oil spill. Today's $1.4 billion settlement will be paid under the Clean Water Act for civil and criminal penalties. A significant portion of those funds will be used to restore the Gulf, as directed by the RESTORE Act.   

The groups issued the following statement:

"This is a great day for the Gulf environment and the communities that rely on a healthy ecosystem for their livelihoods," said Environmental Defense Fund, Greater New Orleans Inc., National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Oxfam America and Ocean Conservancy. "We thank the Department of Justice for their leadership in holding Transocean accountable and look forward to full resolution of the case with other responsible parties, which will allow restoration efforts in the Gulf to get fully underway."

"With this settlement, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council finally has some funding to begin implementing a comprehensive plan for ecosystem restoration that will rebuild the environment of the Gulf and the communities that rely upon it."

CONTACTS:
Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org
David Ringer, National Audubon Society, 212.979.3062, dringer@audubon.org
Heather Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 703.841.3929, hlayman@tnc.org
Shelley Sparks, Ocean Conservancy, 504.616.9150, ssparks@oceanconservancy.org
Laura Rusu, Oxfam America, 202.496.1169, lrusu@oxfamamerica.org
Jaclyn McDougal, National Wildlife Federation, 678.436.5072, mcdougalj@nwf.org
Matt Wolfe, Greater New Orleans Inc., 504.527.6936, mwolfe@gnoinc.org

SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund