WikimediaNEW ORLEANS (AP) — The administrator of claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill says more than half the payments from a $500 million second round of seafood industry claims have been distributed.
Attorney Patrick Juneau of Lafayette said in a news release that the program has resulted in $296 million in payments to 2,647 claimants.
The $2.3 billion Seafood Compensation Program set aside money within the larger 2012 oil spill settlement to pay commercial fishermen, vessel owners, and other seafood workers. More than $1 billion was distributed in the first phase. The second phase, authorized by the court in November, involves $500 million.
Juneau's Thursday statement said he expects second-phase payments of the remaining to continue over the next four to six months.