Clusters of landlocked municipalities more than 100 miles from the Gulf Coast have secured millions of dollars in BP money through settlements designed to compensate local governments for lost tourism dollars and other economic damage from the company’s 2010 oil spill, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
This week, BP finished making roughly $687.4 million in settlement payments to 383 local government entities in the five Gulf states. Nearly $8.2 million of that money went to 33 government entities that are more than 100 miles from the coast, in places like the Mississippi Delta and suburbs of central Alabama, the records show.
BP’s well blowout off Louisiana’s coast triggered a deadly explosion that killed 11 rig workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, staining beaches, killing wildlife and scaring away tourists.
The company agreed last month to pay up to $1 billion to resolve economic claims by local governments, but the settlement payouts have fallen well short of that maximum amount. Â The AP analyzed minimum distances from the center point of each city or town to the coastline to determine which locations were farther than 100 miles away from the coast.
Jackson, Mississippi, approximately 175 miles from the coast, received $1.3 million. Birmingham, Alabama, more than 200 miles from the coast, received $1 million.
Among the smaller cities receiving money is Ruleville, a Mississippi Delta city that landed $40,748. Ruleville, which is nearly 300 miles from the coast and has about 3,000 residents, said it lost revenue from sales taxes and other sources due to a drop in tourist travel after the spill.
