Now comes the hard part. In the months since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, hundreds of thousands of people and businesses have filed for emergency payments from the $20-billion BP fund administered by Kenneth R Feinberg More than $2.2 billion is being paid to some 150,000 individuals and businesses with documented claims, according to fund estimates.
That emergency programme came to an end on Tuesday, and now the next phase begins: the negotiation of lump-sum final settlements for those affected by the spill. The rules for those settlements will be announced on Wednesday by Feinberg, after consulting with lawyers, state attorneys general, the department of justice and BP.
A copy of a 12-page document laying out the claims process describes in detail a programme that will run for three years. It does not require those seeking reimbursement to give up their right to sue BP or other companies involved with the spill until they accept a final offer.
Anyone accepting the final settlement, however, will give up the right to file future claims against BP or any other company involved in the disaster. The fund will also allow people to continue to receive money while weighing a final settlement. And there will be an appeals process for those unhappy with their offer. The document addresses the contentious problem of proximity to the spill.
Feinberg has long argued that his programme will be more generous than the court system because he has greater flexibility to address claims that would be prohibited under the Oil Pollution Act.
That act creates a high bar for certain claims, particularly from people and businesses near beaches that were not directly affected by the spill, including Florida tourism businesses that experienced a downturn.
Feinberg, though, has said he would consider such claims, and he is releasing a 48-page memorandum by John CP Goldberg of Harvard Law School that argues that such claims ?would not be entitled to recover? through the courts.