Boyd Calls on President to Establish Emergency Account to Pay for Hurricane-related Oil Damages

U.S. Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) today sent a letter to the President calling for the establishment of the Joint Oil Spill-Hurricane Emergency Account, an account that would be used exclusively to compensate Gulf Coast residents who experience oil-related damages caused by a hurricane or tropical storm propelling BP's oil in the Gulf inland. The need for an account of this nature was first identified at Congressman Boyd's Joint Oil Spill-Hurricane Planning Conference held last week in Panama City.

"As I've said many times, BP is responsible for paying for this entire mess, and that includes any damages caused by their oil making its way inland due to a storm," said Congressman Boyd. "This Emergency Account will be funded exclusively by BP -- not taxpayer dollars -- through the $20 billion escrow account they have already set up. The Account will allow North Florida residents, businesses and local governments to rest assured that they will be duly compensated for any damage they experience as a result of this oil making its way onto land following a storm."

Last week, Congressman Boyd brought together representatives from federal and state emergency response agencies and key local stakeholders for the Joint Oil Spill-Hurricane Planning Conference. The conference provided participants the first opportunity to discuss the effect a hurricane would have on the oil currently in the Gulf of Mexico and the impact it would have on North Florida's communities. During the conference, participants identified actions that need to be incorporated into current hurricane response plans in order to efficiently and effectively protect our communities and people from the threat posed by having oil propelled inland. In addition, conference participants also discussed the process for how to compensate residents that experience damages as a result of having oil in the Gulf strewn inland. Congressman Boyd's call to establish an Emergency Account seeks to ensure that Gulf Coast residents will have a specific account from which to file oil-related damage claims, and that there will be no confusion about who is responsible for the costs.

The letter Congressman Boyd sent to the President today builds on his commitment to protect Northwest Florida and ensure that local communities are receiving economic relief as quickly as possible.

Earlier this month, Congressman Boyd voted to prevent any disruption to the clean-up and containment efforts currently underway in the Gulf by authorizing the federal government to provide advance funding from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to sustain and support these activities. The legislation calls for BP to repay the full cost of this advance funding.

Congressman Boyd also sent a letter to the President calling for the establishment of a Gulf seafood safety task force to counter the growing public perception that seafood harvested in Gulf waters is not safe to eat.

Last month, Congressman Boyd sponsored legislation that would hold oil companies fully accountable for the economic damage caused by oil spills. Oil companies are already responsible for the full cost of environmental clean-up efforts. Boyd's legislation would raise the current cap from $75 million to $10 billion, ensuring that oil companies -- and not the taxpayers -- bear the cost for all economic damages resulting from oil spills.

More information on the BP oil spill crisis and Congressman Boyd's efforts to protect North Florida can be found at www.boyd.house.gov/oilspill.

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