[jyl]

The fund is limited by law to a maximum size, about $2.7BN. It has about $1.6BN in it. The funds are used to pay for many activities related to oil drilling, not just spill cleanup. The portion of the funds designated for emergency spill cleanup is fairly small, in the hundreds of millions rather than billions. The per-barrel fee is not always collected. It is suspended when the fund reaches the maximum permitted size, and thus has been suspended fairly often. There, that was 5 minutes' research. If that doesn't answer what you were asking, it is a start anyway.

I think BP has waived the $75MM limit, right? That only applies if there wasn't gross negligence, I think that is the legal test? Good luck to BP of making that defense stick.