Harris
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) -- California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Monday a settlement has been reached with the owners and operators of the ship M/V Cosco Busan that struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007.
The comprehensive civil settlement resolves all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the accident, and the subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.
The event killed thousands of birds, impacted a significant portion of the Bay's 2008 herring spawn, spoiled miles of shoreline habitat and closed the Bay and area beaches to recreation and fishing.
"This Bay is the jewel of the San Francisco region and the Cosco Busan oil spill left a lasting scar across our water, natural habitats and wildlife," Harris said in a statement.
"This settlement will allow all of these precious resources to be restored to their original health and beauty."
The U.S. Department of Justice, the state, the city and county of San Francisco, and the city of Richmond signed and lodged a consent decree that requires Regal Stone Limited and Fleet Management Ltd., the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, to pay $44.4 million for natural resource damages and penalties and to reimburse the governmental entities for response costs incurred as a result of the 53,000 gallon oil spill.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.