Navy Secretary Backs Gulf Support Plan

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced in New Orleans that most of the civil penalties expected to be paid by BP for Clean Water Act violations should stay in the Gulf region.

"Because the Gulf took the risk, because the Gulf took the damage, that money, a significant amount of that money, should be dedicated to the Gulf, to the people and the region that bore the brunt of this."

He says Congress must define what a significant amount' means. The Senate and House have bills to set aside 80 percent of the fines for Gulf restoration. Mabus says a task force led by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson should lead the response until a permanent recovery council is established.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.