Alliance for Justice Recommends Changes to Gulf Coast Recovery Compensation Methodology

Washington, D.C., February 16, 2011—As part of its ongoing effort to promote justice for the individuals struggling to recover from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Alliance for Justice has sent recommendations to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) in response to a request from GCCF administrator Kenneth Feinberg for public comments on his proposed methodology for processing claims and calculating damages. 

Many Gulf Coast claimants face tough legal and procedural difficulties as they fight for fair compensation for their losses, and AFJ’s analysis has found that GCCF’s proposed methodology does not adequately protect residents’ rights.

Although Alliance for Justice applauds this request for public input as a valuable step toward greater transparency in the claims process, we found numerous ways in which the methodology needs to be improved if it is to offer a fair and transparent process for Gulf Coast residents. 

Some of the problems AFJ recommends be addressed in the methodology are: 

• The methodology relies upon an unreliable and inherently speculative projection of when the Gulf will recover.
• The methodology should better inform claimants of the specific documentation and eligibility standards used by GCCF.
• GCCF’s proposed methodology does not explain how GCCF will handle some of the claims BP is required to pay under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, such as subsistence use claims for residents who rely on seafood for subsistence.
• The methodology’s underlying assumptions and the GCCF’s processes need to be more open, transparent, and free from corporate influence.
• GCCF’s proposed methodology calculates economic loss based on 2008 and 2009 figures, despite the fact that those years represent a low point in the USeconomy. 

AFJ’s analysis and full set of recommendations can be found online at www.crudejustice.org.

Alliance for Justice's award-winning short film, Crude Justice, explores many of the issues facing Gulf Coast residents as they fight for fair compensation for their losses in a situation fraught with uncertainty and characterized by difficult choices. The film tells the stories of the individuals and communities as they struggle to find justice in a legal process that is seemingly dominated by corporate interests. Crude Justice is now available on YouTube. You can learn more about the film at www.crudejustice.org.

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Alliance for Justice is a national association of over 100 organizations dedicated to advancing justice and democracy. For more than 30 years, AFJ  has led the fight for a more equitable society on behalf of a broad constituency of environmental, consumer, civil and women's rights, children's, senior citizens' and other groups. Alliance for Justice is premised on the belief that all Americans have the right to secure justice in the courts and to have our voices heard when government makes decisions that affect our lives.