POSTED: Friday, November 16, 2012 - 7:00pm
UPDATED: Friday, November 16, 2012 - 7:04pm
NBC NATIONAL NEWS — So where exactly will the money be going after yesterday's historic settlement from the BP oil spill?
Of the $4.5 billion, almost $2.5 billion will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation. The agency says they're using it for environmental cleanup throughout the Gulf Coast.
About $1.5 billion will go toward criminal fines.
Around $525 million will go to the Securities and Exchanges Commission to settle criminal charges of BP misleading investigators.
Finally, $350 million is headed toward the National Academy of Sciences. The organization will use the money to start a 30-year-program on human health in the Gulf.
There's still a possible $8 billion dollar settlement to be decided on between BP and 100,000 businesses and people impacted by the spill. That's expected to be brought up in the next year.