The Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a $90 settlement with MOEX Offshore LLC, an investor in the oil well at the Deepwater Horizon, for its involvement with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. $70 million go towards civil penalties for Clean Water Act (CWA) violations and $20 million will go towards habitat restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. Department of Justice attorneys stated that the settlement will not affect the other five defendants in the lawsuit that is scheduled for February 27 in New Orleans at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Attorney General Eric Holder commented, “The Department of Justice has not wavered in its commitment to hold all responsible parties fully accountable for what stands as the largest oil spill in U.S. history. This landmark settlement is an important step—but only a first step—toward achieving accountability and protecting the future of the Gulf ecosystem by funding critical habitat preservation projects.”
