The sky may be falling for BP (BP). The US Department of Justice released a report in mid-April stating that the company owes an additional $64 million in payments from the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The report came after the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), the $20 billion entity BP set up to process claims stemming from the Deepwater disaster immediately after it happened, was audited. The so-called “significant errors” were identified in the audit and checks are now being sent to the some 7,300 businesses and individuals owed (roughly 3% of the pool of claimants). To date, the GCCF gave out over $6 billion before a case ever went to trial.

Acting associate attorney general Tony West had this to say:

While there’s no question that the independent GCCF labored under extremely challenging circumstances to get a huge number of payments processed successfully, the fact that this audit has resulted in tens of millions of dollars being made available to claimants who were wrongfully denied or shortchanged underscores the importance of the audit.

Plus, if the court finds that gross negligence on the part of BP caused the oil spill, it could levy fines as high as $17 billion. But, that isn’t the half of it.

In Alabama, Mobile County, Baldwin County, Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre each filed lawsuits in federal court on April 19 over the Deepwater oil spill, even though settlement negotiations are still underway. The move is to avoid exceeding the two-year statute of limitations for damage claims in place under Alabama law. To continue reading, click here.