The 2010 Gulf oil spill has created years of legal fighting by the Department of Justice, including the five Gulf Coast states. The federal lawyers are now asking the judge in New Orleans to approve the $20 billion settlement that was agreed last July.

The Gulf oil spill has violated the Clean Water Act and will be settled for $5.5 billion in order to cover the damages it made on the environment and all the other claims of the affected states and local government, as reported by KY3.

Judge Carl Barbier of the U.S District Court said that BP has grossly neglect their responsibility leading to the offshore explosion that killed 11 workers and has caused 134 million gallons of oil spill. He added that the Justice Department is confident that the settlement is fair and will give fair resolution to the case in the interest of the public and is based on the purpose of the Clean Water Act, Oil pollution Act and other related laws, as per ABC News. The money will be paid over a 16-year period.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Barbier, though, sided with BP on the issue that the law relates only to damages caused by the spill. He added that the Congress never intended for the Oil Pollution Act to hold polluters liable for government actions like moratorium which is aimed at preventing similar events in the future which in the end will affect the entire industry later on.

The department acknowledges that the agreement would be considered the largest environmental settlement in the history of the U.S and is also considered the largest civil settlement that involves a single subject. Geoff Morrell, BP's spokesman, said that this is just another step forward in order to finalize the historic settlement and they are just waiting for the court's decision regarding the issue.