WASHINGTON – At a Capitol Hill press conference today hosted by Women of the Storm, United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., welcomed the Obama Administration’s support for dedicating at least 80% of civil Clean Water Act penalties incurred by those responsible for the spill to the Gulf Coast.  Since last year’s Deepwater Horizon accident, Sen. Landrieu has led the bipartisan effort by the Louisiana Congressional delegation to ensure that the Gulf Coast states that have suffered severe environmental and economic damage from the oil spill get a significant portion of the penalty money paid by BP.

Sen. Landrieu was joined at the press conference by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and members of Women of the Storm.
            “It is good to see that this administration understands that to fulfill President Obama's promise to leave the Gulf Coast better than it was before the BP oil disaster, Gulf Coast states need a dedicated and robust stream of funding to restore and protect our coast and our economy for the long-term,” said Sen. Landrieu.  “In the coming weeks, I will introduce legislation to help this region undo decades of coastal wetland loss and respond to the effects of the current oil spill by ensuring that no less than 80% of the civil and criminal penalties will be directed our way.  Our delegation remains united in its efforts to achieve justice for the Gulf states that have been ravaged by several hurricanes and the largest oil spill in American history.”
            Earlier this year, the National Oil Spill Commission's report on the BP oil spill supported Sen. Landrieu’s recommendation that no less than 80% of BP penalty money goes to Gulf Coast states for coastal and environmental restoration.  And last year, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus issued a report, titled “America’s Gulf Coast,” that also urges Congress to dedicate a significant amount of the penalties incurred by those responsible for the spill to the Gulf Coast.
 

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