Our Attorney General and four municipalities (Greenville, Evergreen, Georgiana, and McKenize) have opted to pursue a civil suit against British Petroleum and the other companies involved. The Federal Courts have decided (pdf) all oil spill cases will be heard in Louisiana by the same judge at one time. According to the Times Picayune, fault for the disaster will be divvied up at court hearing on October 1, 2011, then proceedings to decide how much and to whom. So, it looks like this will be a matter for the next Attorney General and Governor (and maybe successors) to handle. There will no immediate relief for the state budget and our state government will face pleasant task of parcelling out the proceeds at some unknown future date after the crisis has passed.
Individual claims (a FAQ about what is covered) are being processed though controversy exists about payment amounts and other matters. A progress report from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility shows about 15,000 claims have been filed with 4900 approved for payment.
BP is handling claims from governments directly and has a very detailed, fiddly protocol for claims, which local governments have to cope with to solve their financial strains.
So, at best, full financial recovery is still around the bend for some and around the bend and over the rise and around the bend again then ask for directions for others.
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