National
Five Years after Spill, Gulf Coast Waits for Fine Money
In this Friday, June 4, 2010 file picture, tourists watch as workers clean oil from the sand along a 700-yard long strip of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon rig that washed up on the beach in Gulf Shores, Ala. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Deborah Barfield Berry and Ledyard King, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON (USA Today) – Five years after the massive BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf Coast communities are still waiting for the billions promised to help them recover from the nation’s worst environmental disaster.
Local officials and environmentalists from the five affected states — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — have taken steps to identify which projects would be financed with fine money paid by BP.
But they’re still waiting for those funds, on hold until a federal court in New Orleans decides exactly what the company should pay.
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