The U.S. Department of Justice announced last week a final settlement of US$20.8 billion over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. However, the Times-Picayune highlighted an overlooked detail of the

settlement. Though the U.S. Department of Justice forbids BP from deducting its Clean Water Act penalties, no restrictions have been placed on the billions of dollars labeled “natural resource damages payments,” “ restoration,” and “reimbursement to government” which can be deducted as business expenses.