The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) & the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

[red-beard]

Where the hell is all of the money?

Since the mid 1986, there has been a fund, collected from a tax on each barrel of oil produced or imported into the USA. The oil company is liable for the first $75 million, then this fund kicks in.

This money is supposed to be used to clean up oil spills, JUST LIKE THIS ONE. We've been paying into this, where is the money? Is it all spent, on other stuff?

BP is, by law, liable for $75 million. The rest is supposed to come from this tax supported fund. Why is no one talking about this fund?

[Gogar]

It's with the Social Security money.

[Rick Lee]

I view anything I pay to the gov't. as protection money that does nothing but keep me out of jail. I have no faith whatsoever in their ability to spend it wisely and I know I'll never see a dime of it again anyway.

[island911]

And, even tho BP is writing checks for claims as they come (not waiting for lawyers to get involved) our govt is insisting that they hand over a billion, or so, for our govt to hand out. :-/

I guess some high up DC lawyers want to make sure lawyers get involved.

[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.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by 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.

If you look at the law and the usages, the limit is what can be used without higher authorization. The entire fund can be used for oil clean up. I agree that it is not enough for the situation.