U S Government Accountability Office

Deepwater Horizon oil spill U S Government Accountability Office

" Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a number of related legislative proposals have been introduced. For example, in May 2010, the administration made several proposals including increasing the caps on payments from the Fund and obtaining express authority to oversee Responsible Pa claims proce The objectives of this study were to provide a preliminary assessment of (1) financial risks and exposures to the Fund and the federal government as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and (2) Coast Guard's NPFC cost reimbursement policies and procedures for Deepwater Horizon oil spill costs. In addition, we provide a description of the framework for federal monitoring and oversight efforts over the Responsible Parties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including federal efforts to oversee BP's and GCCF's Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims payments. This product is the first of a planned body of work to evaluate and assess the federal risks and exposures resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Our follow on work is to include assessing and testing NPFC Fund reimbursement policies and procedures and analyzing the framework for federal monitoring and oversight efforts over the Responsible Parties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Scope and Methodology To identify and provide a preliminary assessment of the financial risks to the Fund and the federal government as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we identified and analyzed applicable laws and regulations and reviewed our previous work on the cost of oil spills to identify statutory and regulatory limitations on the liability of Responsible Parties that may pose financial risks to the Fund and federal government to the extent that Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims exceed such limits.6 To provide a preliminary assessment of the design of NPFC's reimbursement process, we interviewed NPFC officials, performed walkthroughs, and conducted a review of NPFC's documented policies and procedures. We a..."