AP PHOTOS: A look back at the 2010 Gulf oil spill

AAA??Feb. 25, 2013?1:24 PM ET
AP PHOTOS: A look back at the 2010 Gulf oil spill
By The Associated PressBy The Associated Press, Associated Press??

FILE - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, in this April 21, 2010 file photo. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, in this April 21, 2010 file photo. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill floats on the water as the sky is reflected in sheen on Barataria Bay, off the coast of Louisiana, in this June, 7, 2010 file photo. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FILE - This file photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows oil leaking from the drill pipe of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig after it sank on April 22, 2010, two days after it exploded. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP photo/US Coast Guard)

FILE - Oil floats in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La., in this file photo taken May 4, 2010, two weeks after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - A sea bird is mired in oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast in this June 3, 2010 file photo. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon has affected wildlife throughout the Gulf of Mexico. A high-stakes trial to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill began Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

A high-stakes trial started Monday to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the 2010 Gulf oil spill. Under the Clean Water Act, which is designed to punish companies and prevent future spills, a polluter pays a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil; the fines nearly quadruple for companies found guilty of grossly negligent behavior.

Here's a gallery of photos looking back at the aftermath of the nation's worst offshore oil spill.

Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Painting, Environmental concerns, Environment, Environment and nature, Industrial accidents, Accidents, Accidents and disasters, Visual arts, Arts and entertainment, Oil spills, Pollution

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-25-AP-Gulf-Oil-Spill-Photo-Gallery/id-e8674bb921e14c288d533c9c7bb7c08d

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