DOJ: Pace of Oil Spill Compensation ‘Unacceptable’

The Department of Justice said earlier this month the Gulf Coast Claims Facility’s pace in compensating victims of the Gulf oil spill is “unacceptable.”

In a Sept. 17 letter to Kenneth Feinberg, who the Obama administration put in charge of the massive claims process that has resulted from the spill, Associate U.S. Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli said:

Your recent public statements have acknowledged that the process is more complicated and time-intensive than you had anticipated. I would reiterate to you, however, that the efficiency of the GCCF’s review and payment process is not just a matter of fulfilling your own performance goals. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has disrupted the lives of thousands upon thousands of individuals, often cutting off the income on which they depend. Many of these individuals and businesses simply do not have the resources to get by while they await processing by the GCCF.

As the present pace is unacceptable, the GCCF needs to devote whatever additional resources – or make whatever administrative changes – are necessary in order to speed up this process. I would appreciate your keeping me advised of your progress in this matter.

The letter comes as The Washington Independent has chronicled the plight of oil spill victims as well as the slow progress of the GCCF in a number of stories.

Amid the criticism, Feinberg has outlined a number of changes to the GCCF’s procedures.