text:  The cost is coming out of the settlement fund from the BP oil spill, which in 2010 polluted more than 3 million barrels into the Gulf. Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it's not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.