HUNTINGTON BEACH : BP Offers $431,653 Settlement for Spill

City Atty. Gail C. Hutton is scheduled Monday to ask the City Council to accept a $431,653 payment from British Petroleum as the city’s full reimbursement for cleanup costs from the worst oil spill in county history.

The city, however, will continue pursuing efforts to recover compensation for damage allegedly caused by the disaster, including losses to wildlife and lost tourist revenue, according to a report from Hutton released Friday.

The proposed settlement with British Petroleum, which owned the spilled oil and has assumed financial responsibility for the Feb. 7 incident, is considerably less than the $526,959 sought by city officials.

Hutton is recommending the council waive $87,827 of its claim.

British Petroleum policy states that the firm does not reimburse overhead charges in oil spill claims, which the city would agree not to challenge under the proposal, Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard said Friday.

The only other way the city could attempt to recover those costs would be to file a potentially costly lawsuit, according to Hutton’s recommended settlement.

Under the agreement, British Petroleum acknowledges no responsibility for the incident, in which nearly 400,000 gallons of crude were spilled about 1 1/2 miles offshore by the tanker American Trader, blackening beaches and killing scores of birds and other wildlife. The tanker, while mooring in shallow waters, apparently punctured its hull on its own anchor.

If the proposed settlement is accepted, the city would authorize the firm to seek damages from others believed to share the blame for the disaster.

Officials have not said what other firms or agencies BP might ask to pay part of bill for damages. However, a U.S. Coast Guard study released earlier this year concluded that Golden West Refineries, which runs the offshore mooring operation, was partly responsible.

British Petroleum has already paid the city $250,000 toward reimbursement of city costs for supplies, equipment and manpower used during the cleanup effort. Upon council approval of the proposed agreement, the firm would pay the city $181,653 to complete the settlement.