Monday, May 03, 2010

Oil Spill Claims Information

BP is now accepting claims for the Gulf Coast oil spill.Please call BP’s help line at:

1-800-440-0858

See a BP fact sheet here for additional information (Click here to view fact sheet)

For those not satisfied with BP’s resolution, there is an additional avenue for assistance available through the Coast Guard once BP has finalized a claim. Those who have already pursued the BP claims process can call the Coast Guard at 1-800-280-7118.

More information about what types of damages are eligible for compensation under the Oil Pollution Act as well as guidance on procedures to seek that compensation.

For more information about the response and recovery efforts and to sign up for updates from the Joint Information Center.

CLAIM FORMAT

There is no required format for claims. Claims must be supported with documentation, in writing, and signed.

Background: The primary source of revenue for the fund is a nine-cents perbarrel fee on imported and domestic oil. Collection of this fee ceasedon December 31, 1994 due to a "sunset" provision in the law. Otherrevenue sources for the fund include interest on the fund, costrecovery from the parties responsible for the spills, and any fines orcivil penalties collected.

The Fund is administered by the U.S. CoastGuard's National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC).
The Fund can provide up to $1 billion for any one oilpollution incident, including up to $500 million for the initiation ofnatural resource damage assessments and claims in connection with anysingle incident. The main uses of Fund expenditures are:

State accessfor removal actions;
Payments toFederal, state, and Indian tribe trustees to carry out natural resourcedamage assessments and restorations;
Payment ofclaims for uncompensated removal costs and damages; and
Research anddevelopment and other specific appropriations.

Structure of the FundThe OSLTF has two major components. 1) TheEmergency Fund is available for Federal On-Scene Coordinators(FOSCs) to respond to discharges and for federal trustees to initiatenatural resource damage assessments. The Emergency Fund is a recurring$50 million available to the President annually. 2) The remaining Principal Fund balance is used to pay claims and to fundappropriations by Congress to Federal agencies to administer theprovisions of OPA and support research and development.

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