BP Profits Rebound, New Legislation Aims to Restore Gulf States, Plus the Cheapest Gas in Town

As Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the beginning of the country’s worst oil spill in history, news came out this week regarding BP’s rebounding profits and a federal bill introduced to funnel BP reparations directly to the Gulf states.

The Associated Press reported Monday that while BP isn’t out of the woods in terms of cleaning its mess, the oil giant made a fourth-quarter profit of $5.6 billion — that’s 30 percent more than what they made at the same time last year. 

And last Thursday, U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the RESTORE the Gulf Act of 2011 (S. 861). The bill calls for 80 percent of the penalties BP paid under the Clean Water Act to go directly to the Gulf states to restore coastal ecosystems and the local economy. Under current law, fines go to the U.S. Treasury. Read more about the bill here.  

Closer to home, the BP at 6300 S. Cass Ave. is still among the cheapest gas stations in the Burr Ridge area where a gallon of regular costs $4.19. Although Fullers 66, 102 W. Chicago Ave. in Hinsdale, eclipses BP with a gallon of regular coming in at $4.

Here's a look at gas prices in the Burr Ridge area:

*A correction has been made in this article. An earlier version incorrectly stated that the RESTORE ACT was introduced on April 19.