CRAWFORDVILLE, Fl. (WTXL) -- The Wakulla County Commission accepted a $400,000 oil spill settlement with British Petroleum (BP).
While the amount may seem small, the county commission was content with the settlement. The commission says the trouble that it would go through could potentially take years longer to prove the actual losses due to the spill. Plus, they agreed that the legal expenses that it would incur during the process wouldn't be worth it.
"Imagine if you had to figure out the impact", said Wakulla County Commissioner Ralph Thomas, "Obviously, no oil hit our beaches but there was the perception that we had oil here. There was a perception that our seafood was tainted. And so we saw a loss of industry, loss of tourism."
The six figure amount that the county commission agreed to is a fraction compared to what they are expecting to receive from the Restore Act. Commissioner Thomas said they expect to receive around $13,000,000 when all is said and done.
The Wakulla County School District has also accepted a $1,000,000 deal with BP.
