The U.S. Department of Justice lodged a proposed Consent Decree in federal district court on July 5, 2018, to settle claims of the Trustees (NOAA, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the State of Louisiana) for injuries to natural resources from a 2016 spill releasing an estimated 1,926 barrels of oil from the Shell Green Canyon Block 248 oil production system in the Gulf of Mexico. The Department of Justice will accept public comments on the proposed Consent Decree for 30 days.  

Under the proposed settlement, Shell Offshore, Inc. will pay $3.625 million to the Trustees to plan and implement restoration projects that address the natural resource injuries. The Trustees have evaluated what species were exposed to oil, and are scoping projects in the offshore and nearshore environments to restore habitats for the fish, birds, and marine mammals impacted by the spill.

Learn more about the Consent Decree and how to provide public comment. >