BP civil settlement remains elusive as trial nears

The U.S. Justice Department and the five Gulf Coast states affected by a massive oil spill in 2010 have indicated they would like to settle their environmental and economic claims with BP ahead of a trial scheduled to start next week. The problem is that they haven’t been able to agree on the possible terms of such an agreement. Months of negotiations have failed to resolve lingering differences—not just with the London-based oil giant, but among themselves. Louisiana officials also don’t appear to agree on how a settlement should be structured. The Justice Department convened a meeting with Gulf Coast state officials in Washington, D.C., late last week in an effort to hammer out an offer to resolve the outstanding civil claims, but an agreement wasn’t reached, a person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential. An 11th-hour settlement still could be reached before the trial starts Monday—or even after it has begun. BP faces penalties under the Clean Water Act ranging from $5.4 billion to $21.1 billion, based on the government’s estimate of how much oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Read the full story here.