The deepwater drilling rig Deepwater Horizon suffered an explosion and fire on April 20, 2010, and sank 2 days later. On the 24th of April, oil was discovered to be leaking from two locations in the well pipe system. Since then, oil has continued to leak from the well. The resulting oil spill has had a variety of environmental and economic impacts. The primary areas impacted are the Gulf Coast States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, particularly the coastal zones of these states. BP, as one of the responsible parties, is liable under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for the direct cleanup costs and providing certain assistance to those affected by the oil spill, per the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. |