Reply #4: Final payments begin soon. Feinberg hasn't yet disclosed protocols.

[madfloridian]

"Oil spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg told a Senate subcommittee that he expects to begin paying final and interim compensation for spill-related damages on or about Feb. 18, according to his prepared remarks.

..."Feinberg, who was chosen to oversee the claims process by both President Barack Obama and BP, defended his Gulf Coast Claims Facility from critics who say he is not truly independent. His lawfirm, Feinberg Rozen, is paid $850,000 a month by BP, and critics say he's influenced by BP in how he doles out payments. Feinberg reiterated that he has not been influenced.

He did, however, acknowledge again that his operation has had some difficulty ensuring payments are uniform for all 168,000 who have been paid and more than 480,000 applicants. He promised the subcommittee that he would post next week on the GCCF website, www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com, new protocols and methodologies for calculating final and interim claims payments.

..."But Feinberg has promised to disclose those methods before and has not yet done so. Two weeks ago he told The Times-Picayune it would be available by this week and it was not. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., echoed that concern. Shelby said Feinberg first told him he would disclose his calculation methods back on Dec. 16, and Shelby said it was unacceptable that the information is not yet posted on the website."

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/01/feinberg_final_interim_oil_spi.html