BP has to pay $1bn for gulf sea

The US Justice Department, which helped form the agreement, said the funds would go to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. It will be used to clean up affected areas, including beaches. Other recipients of the $1bn include the Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. Hundreds of miles of coastal wetlands and beaches were contaminated, a third of the Gulf's US waters were closed to fishing, and the economic costs have reached into the tens of billions. The Justice Department said the release of the money was the largest restoration agreement of its kind ever reached and was "a first step towards fulfilling BP's obligations to fund the complete restoration of injured public resources". The department said the agreement does not affect the ultimate liability of BP or any other company for environmental damages or other liabilities, but lets restoration projects get started sooner.