According to the GCCF's Eligibility Criteria for Emergency Advance Payments,
The GCCF anticipates that most submitted claims will be for Lost Profits or Impairment of Earning Capacity.The GCCF will apply industry-specific criteria in determining the appropriate amount of emergency compensation, including factors like seasonality. Every claim will receive individual consideration and be evaluated on case-specific facts.
Claimants with losses that are closely tied to injury to real or personal property, or natural resources, resulting from the Spill-such as fishermen whose fishing grounds are closed and hotels located on oiled beaches-will receive an emergency payment for the full amount of the claimant's losses for either one month or up to six months where the claimant can establish that six months of loss will be incurred. Claimants have the choice to file for a one-month (or multiple up to six months) payment.
Economic losses which are more remote, or occurred at a location more distant from the Spill, are less likely to be fully compensated. In determining eligibility, and how much compensation is appropriate for such eligible claims, the GCCF will take into account geographic proximity to the Spill, the nature of the claimant's job or business, and the extent to which the claimant's job or business is dependent upon injured property or natural resources. Each of these factors will be weighed in the initial assessment of a claim.
Geographic proximity will primarily be based on whether the claimant's loss occurred in a community or municipality adjacent to a beach, shoreline, marsh, bay or tributary of the Gulf where oil or oil residues came ashore or appeared in the waters. Determinations regarding proximity focus on where the claimant's work or business activity takes place (or normally takes place) - not an individual's or business's mailing address.
The nature of the claimant's business will be evaluated based on the information provided by the claimant, such as whether the claimant is in the seafood processing industry, a supplier of commercial fishermen, a supplier of recreational users of the waters of the Gulf, or a tourist-oriented business such as a motel.
Based on the weighing of these factors, the GCCF will make an initial assessment of whether the claimant is eligible to receive compensation, and what amount of a claim for Lost Profits or Impairment of Earning Capacity is compensable. Claimants are encouraged to submit documentation that helps the GCCF evaluate these factors. The GCCF will review every claim, and a claimant that demonstrates special circumstances at variance with the weighing system will receive fair and careful consideration.
