Says BP owes taxpayers for oil spilled into Gulf
 

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has introduced a bill that would force BP to pay royalties on all the oil that has spilled from its well in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
“Not only does BP need to pay for the incredible economic and environmental damage they’ve done,” Pingree said.  “They also owe the American people for the millions of gallons of oil they have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.”

Oil companies pay royalties on oil they collect and sell from offshore wells but current law allows federal agencies leeway and requires a finding of negligence when deciding whether to charge BP royalties for the spilled oil.  Pingree’s bill, the Spilled Oil Royalty Collection Act, removes those conditions and requires BP to pay for all the oil that comes out of the damaged well.
 
“It’s simple—BP drilled that well and they are responsible for the spilled oil,” Pingree said.  “They shouldn’t be able to find a legal loophole that gets them off the hook.”
 
“BP’s CEO is on TV saying his company will ‘make it right,’ but we should have more than just a TV commercial to go on,” she said. “We need the force of law to make sure they pay every penny they owe us.”
 
Pingree has called for all oil spill royalties—likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars—to be used to pay environmental fees for offshore wind and tidal power projects.