White House Fact Sheet on the BP Escrow Account

Here. One highlight: It amounts to $5 billion a year for four years. Another: What the heck is this?

BP has previously committed $500 million for the ten-year Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to improve understanding of the impacts of and ways to mitigate oil and gas pollution.

More on the $500 million here. Sounds like a payoff to the states to me.