PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 410.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 26, 2010
Acceptance of Liability and Expedited Claims at Mississippi Canyon 252 Act - Establishes within the Department of the Interior the Office of Deepwater Horizon Claims Compensation (Office) to compensate, on a no-fault basis and in a nonadversarial manner, persons and governmental entities that have incurred damages as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident.
Makes the Office Administrator responsible for processing claims for compensation for damages.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish comprehensive claimant assistance and resource centers in areas with large concentrations of potential claimants; and (2) designate categories of claims to be handled on an expedited basis as a result of extreme financial hardship.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Imposes a stay upon any claim for monetary damages pending in federal or state court related to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Makes any such claim eligible for disposition only if the claimant elects to pursue it under this Act.
Requires the Administrator to establish an Advisory Committee on Deepwater Horizon Compensation.
Sets forth the essential elements of an eligible claim for damages, including proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the claimant suffered damages as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. Declares that a claimant shall not be required to demonstrate that such damages resulted from the negligence or other fault of any other person.
Sets forth claims procedures. Covers damages for losses to real or personal property, subsistence use, revenues, profits and earning capacity, and the costs of public services.
Confers on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over any action for declaratory or injunctive relief challenging any provision of this Act.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to renegotiate the terms of the "Mississippi Canyon 252" lease to reflect statements made in a certain letter from the Group Chief Executive of British Petroleum Exploration & Production, Incorporated (BP) to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and of the Interior that BP is "prepared to pay above $75 million" on "all legitimate claims" relating to that explosion and oil spill. Requires BP, as a condition of such renegotiated lease, to pay all damages awarded pursuant to this Act.
People & committees
Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · R–LA
Legislative record
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Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 410.
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Introduced in Senate
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Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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