Begich: You spill, you pay

Sen. Mark Begich introduced legislation Monday morning that would require the oil company responsible for a spill to immediately fund an escrow account to pay for the damage.

Begich is calling  the legislation, which is co-sponsored by Democrats from Oregon and Minnesota, the Guaranteed Oil Spill Compensation Act of 2010. Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation with similar goals last week.

Begich's legislation is inspired by BP's voluntary decision to put $20 billion into an account for victims of the Gulf spill, but Begich said writing such accounts into law makes sure the same thing will happen after future spills.

"We need to make sure no American will ever again have to suffer what Alaskans did after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, waiting while Exxon fought the legitimate claims of thousands harmed by the spill for nearly two decades," Begich said in a Monday morning press release.

If the bill passes, in the event of a spill the Interior Secretary would be required to estimate the responsible company's liability. The company would then put the money into an escrow account, which the Interior Department would then use to pay claims. Any money not paid out after five years would be returned to the company.

Murkowski introduced legislation on June 15 that would authorize the president to set liability on offshore oil and gas projects at the time of the lease. The liability would be set on a case-by-case basis, using criteria like the company's safety record and the depth and pressure of the reserve being developed.

In May, Murkowski blocked legislation that would have raised the maximum liability for oil companies responsible for a spill from $75 million to $10 billion.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.