PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A barge owner and others responsible for a 1996 oil spill that killed millions of lobsters and other wildlife off the Rhode Island coast agreed Thursday to pay about $16 million to restore the Block Island Sound environment.
In a civil settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Justice, the company, its insurer and other parties agreed to pay more than $8 million to restore ponds, replenish shellfish and protect habitat for loons, sea birds and piping plovers.
They also agreed to buy 1.25 million female lobsters to restock Block Island Sound over the next three to five years, a projected expected to cost at least $8 million.
The agreement still must be approved by a federal judge.
The barge North Cape, owned by Eklof Marine Corp. of Staten Island, N.Y., ran aground during a storm Jan. 19, 1996, spilling 828,000 gallons of home heating oil in Block Island Sound.
"Today's filing is the final chapter in a four-year struggle to restore the resources damaged during the North Cape oil spill," Gov. Lincoln Almond said in a statement. "It means we can finally begin to see tangible restoration projects."
To date, Eklof and other responsible parties have agreed to pay more than $50 million in criminal penalties and other spill-related costs.
Eklof has since been taken over by K-Sea Transportation Corp.
Deming Sherman, a lawyer representing K-Sea, said Thursday the company was pleased with the agreement. He said the company still faces a lawsuit by lobstermen and other claims it is trying to resolve privately.