GCCF re-compensation fund is managed by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the same fund administrator who paid settlements to families who lost loved ones on September 11. The 2014 recovery date, Feinberg said, was determined largely for legal reasons.
In the interest of fairness, Feinberg said that his decision will not be final until the public has a few days to comment.
One member of the public openly unhappy about Feinberg’s calculation is Pam Bondi, Attorney General for the State of Florida. Florida will likely lose billions of tourism dollars due to public misperceptions that the disaster irreparably damaged the Sunshine State’s world-famous sugar white beaches. In truth, only a few gallons of oil reached the shores of Florida (mostly around the northern panhandle), and these droplets of goo were promptly cleaned up.
“While this office had hoped that the methodology would finally provide some transparency,” Bondi wrote in a court filing,” (the GCCF) document provides no useful information to claimants beyond a simplistic multiplier and is based on very optimistic assumptions about unknown environmental and economic conditions.”
Based on Feinberg’s “recovery timeline,” a majority of the people seeking money due to future losses of income directly attributable to the spill (the owner of a Florida hotel, for example, or a person who operates a seaside T-shirt shop) will receive a financial settlement based on a recovery date for the Gulf region of 2012. Money due to them would thus be equal to two times the amount of revenue the oil spill caused them to lose in 2010.
The calculus used for each BP settlement is based on two factors: Actual documented losses incurred after the gusher began (April 20, 2010), and future losses, a sum supplied by claimants and verified for contracted experts.
For oyster harvesters, the amount is four times the amount of losses incurred last year. Feinberg said he choose 2014 for oystermen because, according to experts, oyster beds recover more slowly than other industries.
“The experts anticipate that individuals and businesses engaged in harvesting oysters destroyed as a result of the oil spill … will likely require a longer recovery period than that experienced by other claimants,” stated the GCCF proposal.
All claimants who agree to a financial settlement forfeit the right to seek additional spill-related damages from BP or associated companies.
“The key factor will be whether or not the claimant has provided sufficient documentation proving past and ongoing damage caused by the oil spill,” Feinberg said. “If the claimant can demonstrate a sufficient link between the spill and the damage, we will pay it. But all signs point to the Gulf region recovering at the present time and, therefore, documentation of ongoing damage will be critical to proving the legitimacy of the claim.”
