A new drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico was issued Monday by the Obama administration. Last month a federal court judge overturned the first deep water drilling moratorium. Interior secretary Ken Salazar vowed to come back with an additional one courts would accept. The first deep water drilling moratorium singled out drilling for oil at any kind of depths of 500 feet or more. The new drilling moratorium disregards depth and focuses only on drilling scenarios and know-how. The 2010 oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico dumped an estimated 140 million gallons of crude into the sea.

In a private, closed-door meeting, Obama administration officials and BP executives agreed to the creation of a $20 billion BP escrow fund. The BP escrow fund can be used to pay the damages from the oil spill. Those that are damaged by the oil spill will be able to make a claim to this BP escrow fund. The real problem, though, is the question of if the BP escrow fund will actually help.

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