July 23, 2012 (Written by Travis Pillow – Florida Capital Bureau) The first checks remain a long way off, and much is uncertain, but federal and Florida legislation committing billions in fines from Deepwater Horizon operator BP will mean unprecedented cash windfalls for eight Florida counties, Wakulla and Franklin among them. As much as $20 billion in fines for the 2010 rig explosion and oil spill offers the chance to change the nature of Florida’s northern Gulf coast after the fisheries, resorts and people were threatened by more than 200 million gallons of spilled oil.
