Leaders and activists on the Alabama coast are pleased BP will face criminal penalties for the Gulf oil spill, but they say civil payments are the real key.
The executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, Casi Callaway, said Thursday oil still washes on to the Alabama coast daily and criminal sanctions are warranted. She wants to know how much money will be available for repairing the environment.
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft says he's glad BP will face criminal penalties. But he's more interested in civil penalties and whether fine money eventually reaches states and local communities that suffered because of the spill.
A source tells The Associated Press that BP has agreed to pay the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history, totaling billions of dollars, for the spill.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.