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FAQ-1: Can I present my claim to the NPFC?
FAQ-2: How do I make a claim to the NPFC?
FAQ-3: Will the NPFC pay me in full or try to settle my claim for a lesser amount?
FAQ-4: Will the NPFC pay me if the responsible party denied my claim?
FAQ-5: If I make a claim for lost income as a result of the oil spill, will any income I received from alternative employment, including employment as an oil spill responder, or unemployment benefits, be considered in determining my compensation?
FAQ-6: The GCCF says it intends to pay generous final settlements to claimants presenting final claims in return for a broad release of recovery rights. Will the NPFC also pay generous settlements with a similar release?
FAQ-7: Will I be paid for damages I may sustain or money I expect to lose in the future?
FAQ-8: If I am paid by the NPFC, will I have to give up any rights to recover other costs or losses I may have?
FAQ-9: Will NPFC pay for damages I sustained because of the moratorium on offshore drilling?
FAQ-10: Is there a final date by which claims must be presented to NPFC?
FAQ-11: Will the NPFC pay me for my physical bodily, emotional or mental injuries?
FAQ-12: What is my best choice for recovering my claimed losses?
FAQ-13: I normally fish or gather shellfish to feed my family. But I was unable to fish or gather shellfish for some time because of the oil spill. Do I have a claim that NPFC might pay?
FAQ-14: I occasionally fish or gather shellfish for sport or recreation. My family eats what I catch. I was unable to fish or gather shellfish because of the oil spill. Do I have a claim NPFC might pay?
FAQ-15: How can I best support my claim for loss of subsistence use of fish, shellfish or other natural resources as a result of the oil spill?
FAQ-1: Can I present my claim to the NPFC?
A: Claims may be presented to the NPFC for payment from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund only after the claims have been presented first to a responsible party. If the responsible party denies a claim, or the claim is not settled within 90 days, the claimant may:
1: pursue an action in court against the responsible party, or
2: present the uncompensated claim to the NPFC for payment from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF).
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), administered by Kenneth Feinberg, on behalf of BP as a responsible party, has established claims processing facilities to pay individual and business claims that must be presented to a responsible party. To date the GCCF has paid out over $1.7 billion in claims to individuals and businesses. Information on claims to the GCCF may be found at http://www.restorethegulf.gov/claims.shtml
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FAQ-2: How do I make a claim to the NPFC?
A: Your claim is presented to the NPFC when we receive your written request for a "sum certain" for oil removal costs or damages. This means that a claim must be in writing, signed by the claimant, and request a specific amount of money. The NPFC will only pay valid, eligible claims that are sufficiently proven and documented with evidence. To prove your claim you should generally include, at a minimum, all information and documentation you relied on in determining the amount claimed and how it resulted from the oil spill. General information for claimants, an Optional OSLTF Claim Form and the claims regulations for claims to the NPFC (33 CFR Part 136) can be found at http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/.
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FAQ-3: Will the NPFC pay me in full or try to settle my claim for a lesser amount?
A: The NPFC may pay a claim in full or in part, or may deny the claim depending upon the information and documentation provided by the claimant. The NPFC will fully compensate the established loss and will not try to settle a claim for less than the loss that it determines has been established. For some claims the NPFC may request additional information or documentation before deciding whether to pay in full or in part or deny the claim.
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FAQ-4: Will the NPFC pay me if the responsible party denied my claim?
A: The NPFC will pay a claim that is supported by documentation or information that proves the claim. While the NPFC will consider every claim that is presented against the OSLTF, claimants should anticipate that NPFC is likely to deny a claim that is presented to NPFC without any supporting information or documentation.
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FAQ-5: If I make a claim for lost income as a result of the oil spill, will any income I received from alternative employment, including employment as an oil spill responder, or unemployment benefits, be considered in determining my compensation?
A: Yes. When considering payment for lost profits or lost earnings claims by businesses and individuals the NPFC will require the claimant to provide information on income from alternative employment, including income related to any employment or sales in connection with the oil-spill response and any unemployment benefits received. That income will be considered in determining the actual loss to compensate.
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FAQ-6: The GCCF says it intends to pay generous final settlements to claimants presenting final claims in return for a broad release of recovery rights. Will the NPFC also pay generous settlements with a similar release?
A: NPFC will pay no more than the established damage amount. For any amount paid from the OSLTF the NPFC will require the claimant to release its right to recover that amount against any responsible party and against any other person under any other law.
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FAQ-7: Will I be paid for damages I may sustain or money I expect to lose in the future?
A: NPFC will not pay claims for future, speculative damages.
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FAQ-8: If I am paid by the NPFC, will I have to give up any rights to recover other costs or losses I may have?
A: For any claim paid, the NPFC will require a release of all rights to recover the amount paid on that claim from responsible parties and from any person under any other law consistent with provisions of OPA. NPFC will not require a claimant to release any rights to claim removal costs or damages that are not included in the amount paid.
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FAQ-9: Will NPFC pay for damages I sustained because of the moratorium on offshore drilling?
A: Under the law that governs NPFC’s determinations, NPFC will not pay a loss or damage that is a direct result of the moratorium on offshore drilling. Information about the separate, $100 million fund designated to support rig workers, and potentially those that support rig workers, affected by the moratorium is available at http://www.gcrpf.org.
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FAQ-10: Is there a final date by which claims must be presented to NPFC?
A: Any claim to the NPFC, including any interim claim reflecting less than the full amount of damages to which the claimant ultimately may be entitled, must be presented to NPFC within the following time periods:
1. For removal costs – within 6 years after the date of completion of all removal actions for that incident.
2. For damages – within 3 years after the date on which the injury and its connection with the discharge in question were reasonably discoverable with the exercise of due care, or in the case of natural resource damages, if later, 3 years after the date of completion of the natural resource damage assessment under applicable Federal regulations.
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FAQ-11: Will the NPFC pay me for my physical bodily, emotional or mental injuries?
A: The NPFC will not pay for personal injury losses because they are not damages covered by OPA.
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FAQ-12: What is my best choice for recovering my claimed losses?
A: NPFC cannot advise claimants on how to best pursue their OPA claims. A fundamental policy purpose of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is that compensation should be efficient and effective and that the polluter should pay. Ideally full and timely compensation by the GCCF or the responsible party that is acceptable to the claimant should be the most efficient and effective course. However, for OPA claims to the GCCF or the responsible party that are denied or not settled within 90 days, claimants may choose to pursue an action in court against a responsible party or present a claim to the NPFC for payment from the OSLTF. NPFC does not address other claims under other laws.
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FAQ-13: I normally fish or gather shellfish to feed my family. But I was unable to fish or gather shellfish for some time because of the oil spill. Do I have a claim that NPFC might pay?
A: You may have a claim for loss of subsistence use of natural resources if you rely on the fish or shellfish resources for food, a minimum necessity of life. NPFC may, for example, pay your increased cost to fish or gather shellfish at another location not affected by the oil spill, or your actual, reasonable cost to replace the lost fish or shellfish by purchasing fish, shellfish or other food at a market.
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FAQ-14: I occasionally fish or gather shellfish for sport or recreation. My family eats what I catch. I was unable to fish or gather shellfish because of the oil spill. Do I have a claim NPFC might pay?
A: NPFC would not pay a claim to an individual that occasionally fishes for sport or recreation.
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FAQ-15: How can I best support my claim for loss of subsistence use of fish, shellfish or other natural resources as a result of the oil spill?
A: Document that you are a subsistence user. (a) Identify the specific natural resource(s) that you use for subsistence purposes, (b) describe the frequency or degree of subsistence use (for self and/or household), (c) explain your use of the resource(s) for food, shelter, clothing, medicine, or other minimum necessities of life, and (d) provide supporting information such as appropriate license/authority to harvest, affidavits and/or statements from you or others that attest to your subsistence use.
Explain how the oil spill impacted your use. For example, fish consumption advisories or access restrictions may have prevented you from fishing or gathering shellfish or caused you to use alternative fishing areas. Claims in connection with impacts in areas well outside the spill zone, or well after fish, shellfish or resources were determined to be safe may not be compensated by NPFC.
Describe your efforts to mitigate the lost subsistence use. Describe your efforts to find reasonable alternatives to replace the lost resources, such as fishing or gathering shellfish from nearby areas unaffected by the spill. Or describe why mitigation was not feasible (e.g., due to a lack of comparable substitute resources in nearby areas, an inability to travel to or access alternate locations, a lack of information about viable alternate sites, etc.).
Describe how you determined the amount claimed. Determine your loss as the reasonable cost you incurred to replace the lost fish, shellfish or other natural resources you used for subsistence. Reasonable replacement costs are the costs you actually incurred either to acquire substitute resources (e.g. food purchased at a market in lieu of fishing or gathering) or the additional, incremental costs associated with traveling farther to fish, gather shellfish or collect other resources from areas unaffected by the spill.
The costs you claim should be reduced by any other compensation you received for the subsistence loss; all income you derived using the time that otherwise would have been used to obtain natural resources for subsistence use; and saved overheads or other normal expenses of your subsistence use.
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