There are two broad categories of costs associated with the catastrophic BP Gulf oil spill: one is cleanup; the other is damage caused by the oil -- to shoreline property, local tax revenues, the fishing and tourism industries, and other businesses and individuals.
Here's a guide to who's on the hook for which costs.
What The Law Says
The primary law at issue here is the 1990 Oil Pollution Act, passed after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.
Everyone, including BP, seems to agree that BP is on the hook to pay for all clean up costs associated with the spill. That includes the government response from the Coast Guard, Interior Department, and other federal and state agencies.
The Coast Guard, which is leading the joint local-state-federal unified command responding to the spill, is keeping track of costs and will eventually bill BP, an Obama Administration official tells TPMmuckraker. It's not clear when that will happen. (We've asked the unified command for details and will let you know if we hear back.)
The question of who will pay for damages caused by the spill is more complicated. As reported by the New York Times, the Oil Pollution Act caps at $75 million the liability for BP for economic damages caused by the spill.
However, notes Office of Management and Budget spokesman Ken Baer, if courts find BP to have been "grossly negligent or to have engaged in willful misconduct or conduct in violation of federal regulations," the $75 million cap disappears.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/oil_spill_liability_whos_on_the_hook_1.php?ref=fpb
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