Clean Water Act Penalties

The BP oil disaster delivered a huge blow to America’s coast. Taking an enormous toll on Gulf of Mexico ecosystems and valuable wildlife populations and hitting hard commercial and recreational fishing interests, energy infrastructure and the tourism industry, its impact was felt nationwide. Under current law, BP and others responsible for the spill must pay Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties for each barrel of oil spilled into the gulf, but without action from Congress, this money will go towards unrelated federal spending instead of restoring the area damaged by the spill. Find out more about the RESTORE Act.

A bipartisan national poll conducted this spring showed that 83 percent of voters nationwide support dedicating the Gulf oil spill penalties to restoring the Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast, including:

• 90 percent of Democrats
• 76 percent of Republicans
• 84 percent of Independents, and
• 78 percent of those who say they agree with the Tea Party movement.

It is clear that the vast majority of Americans support BP's fines returning to the Gulf Coast for restoration.