The damage reports have come in from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the repair costs are upwards of $625 million, according to BP (British Petroleum), the multi-billion dollar British oil company responsible for the disaster. BP is footing the bill for a large portion of the cleanup efforts and just recently announced that it would give out $25 million in block grants to the 4 states heavily impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida have all been contaminated by the oil. Each block grant is supposed to help the individual states take speedier recovery actions by implementing the Area Contingency Plans (ACPs). The ACP indicates the most important actions to take and helps to prevent the spread of oil to sensitive areas. This money is intended to supplement other financial efforts BP is making to support the clean-up, and not to replace it. Each state has the flexibility to use the money where it sees fit.

US Congress is also in the midst of approving new legislation that would allow government agencies to continue to clean up the leak that started 1,500 meters below the water’s surface and 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana just one short month ago.

The proposed legislation includes grants as for individual Americans, families and businesses affected by the spill, as well as for US agencies and companies involved in the cleanup effort.

The proposed expenditure includes:
• An unemployment package with 26 weeks of benefits for Americans out of work due to the spill.
• Making food stamps available to affected Americans whose income has been lost due to the spill.
• $200 million for the U.S. Coast Guard to underwrite cleanup operations.
• $2 million for the FDA to monitor and respond to the environmental impact of the spill on the seafood industry in the Gulf and surrounding areas.
• $29 million for additional inspections, enforcement and studies conducted by the Department of the Interior in its monitoring of offshore drilling.

It is important that grant money is made readily available for the cleanup efforts because if any of this oil gets too close to the shorelines, it could wipe out sensitive coral reef, vegetation and wildlife that play a big part in the revenues generated by the southern coastal states.

If your business or employment has been affected by the oil spill, you are likely entitled to temporary financial compensation. Do not sit by and quietly suffer when there is grant money available to help you. Find out if you qualify – apply for your free grant kit today.