Florala council OKs BP settlement

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The Florala city council adopted a resolution Monday night to accept BP’s settlement resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

BP’s settlement amount was for the economic losses for the city.

The BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, about 100 miles off of Alabama’s coast, killing 11 people and causing oil to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. For nearly three months, an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf. Alabama experienced significant environmental and economic damages as a result of the oil spill.

As part of an $18.5 billion global settlement in the accident, BP agreed to pay Alabama $1 billion in economic damages from the oil spill, and $1 billion for natural resource damages.

The council met in closed session for about 10 minutes to talk about pending litigation in regard to the settlement.

In other business, the council:

• agreed to pay $3,596 for a grant rider for the Florala Fire Department’s grant application for new breathing apparatuses;

• approved a $1,000 contribution to the Organized Community Action Program;

• approved to pay $4,875 for the new municipal court software system;

• tabled a decision to buy a 12.4-acre piece of property owned by Dave Curran for $25,000;

• approved part-time help for 30 hours a week to cut grass during the summer and early fall months;

• rejected the north block bids on the sidewalk project, and approved the south block bid;

• approved designating the Rodney J. Evans Civic Center as a voting location;

• declared a piece of middle school shelving as surplus and sold it to Linda Russell for $150; and,

• approved the patching of the middle school roof at a maximum price of $10,000.