Four years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil still washes up on the Gulf Coast shore, and residents and cleanup workers face health hazards from the millions of gallons that spilled and BP’s chemical dispersant that followed. Yet, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that BP — after pleading guilty to 11 charges of manslaughter and lying to Congress about the disaster — will be allowed to start new drilling in Gulf waters.

“BP has ruined coastal areas in five states and killed 11 people,” said Monique Harden of the New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights in an interview with Common Dreams. “This has nothing to do with justice or people or sustainability of our environment. It is all about political deal-making.”

In a 5-year agreement, the EPA removed BP’s ban on U.S. contracts and new leases, including in the Gulf of Mexico. Imposed in 2012, the prohibition was put in place after the EPA determined that BP had not fully addressed the problems that led to the 2010 disaster that killed 11 workers and led to the worst off-shore oil spill in U.S. history. In response, BP turned around and sued the EPA on charges it was being unfairly punished, and with the backing of the British government and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, won the settlement announced Thursday.

However, the ban on new leases did not affect existing ones, and throughout the prohibition, BP held “more oil leases in the Gulf than any other driller,” ThinkProgress reports.

The deal was announced just in time for the oil giant to participate in next week’s scheduled Interior Department lease sale of 40 million acres in the Gulf waters.

BP has been given the go-ahead for new drilling while coastal communities still contend with the toxic legacy of the company’s 2010 spill.

“It is no longer prime-time news anymore, but the fact remains that people face health problems from being exposed to toxic oil and the chemical dispersant used on the oil,” said Harden. “People are experiencing a number of serious health problems. There are very few options for medical treatment in the healthcare system. The Gulf is still suffering from damage done by BP.”

“It’s been almost four years since the disaster, and BP oil is still affecting people and wildlife in the Gulf,” said Raleigh Hoke of the Gulf Restoration Network in an interview with Common Dreams. “Regulators have not yet enacted many safety measures recommended by investigators.”