On Tuesday, Scott announced that the state won’t join a federal lawsuit against Deepwater Horizon oil rig owner Transocean that is filed in federal court in New Orleans. The state would continue to work with BP in an effort to be made whole, Scott said.
“It doesn’t make sense for the state to join that lawsuit,” Scott said. “We have a plan to make sure our state is treated fairly with regard to getting reimbursed by BP for the damages to our state.”
Scott and his cabinet are meeting in the Panhandle today, the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, and will visit local businesses to discuss recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility announced on Monday that it has paid out just under $3.8 billion to 176,000 claimants region-wide.
More than 172 millions gallons of crude oil was dumped into the Gulf of Mexico over three-and-a half-months from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, the worst oil spill disaster in U.S. history.
