SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Baldwin County residents affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill received good news Monday when claims czar Kenneth Feinberg announced he is removing geographic proximity to the spill from his criteria for approving legitimate claims.

“I have concluded that a geographic test to determine eligibility regarding economic harm due to the oil spill is unwarranted,” Feinberg said, acknowledging there has been “economic impact beyond the areas closest to the spill.”

Claimants must still prove the damages filed resulted directly from the oil spill, but physical proximity from the spill will not, in and of itself, bar the processing of legitimate claims,” he said.

According to the most recent data available, the independent Gulf Coast Claims Facility has paid out nearly $1 billion over the past six weeks, representing some 50,000 individual and business claims across the Gulf Coast states.

As of Monday afternoon, the claims facility reported Alabama claimants have received a total of $213.4 million — including $15 million paid to real-estate agents and brokers — to date. The $198.4 million paid to individuals and businesses represents 10,557 paid claims.

Meanwhile, Auburn University’s two-day recovery forum at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach concludes today.

“Alabama Road to Restoration: Integrated Recovery Strategies for the Gulf Coast” presented a series of panel discussions addressing the spill’s environmental impact; the survival and continuity of business strategies; effects on mental and physiological human health; response and emergency management; and federal perspectives on recovery.

“The Gulf of Mexico’s successful recovery depends on a vigorous and ongoing conversation among Gulf Coast stakeholders and the institutions, organizations and policymakers charged with identifying and providing regulatory and other assistance for the restoration,” said John Mason, the university’s associate provost and vice president for research.

“The forum will provide a collegial foundation for this conversation and lead to research based on consensus and a strategy for the Gulf Coast that is sound and sensitive to the future,” Mason said.

Auburn’s partners for the forum included the Alabama State Department of Education, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Alabama Department of Public Health, Alabama Department of Conservation, Alabama Department of Homeland Security, Alabama Department of Mental Health, Alabama Department of Tourism, Alabama Emergency Agency, Alabama Department of Public Safety, and the Governor’s Office of Work Force Development.