SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Oil spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg released calculation methodology and proposed eligibility and substantiation criteria today for the payment of final and interim compensation claims.

Calling a two- to three-year recovery period “reasonable,” Feinberg said the process will be gradual and driven by public input. A two-week public comment period on the proposed process begins today and expires Feb. 16.

“The (Gulf Coast Claims Facility) has examined various data and expert reports governing the present and future condition of the Gulf region,…but predicting the future of the Gulf is not an exact science; there is obviously some unknown risk in attempting to determine any recovery period,” Feinberg said, noting all claimants can opt to either accept a final payment covering all future damage or an interim payments for “documented quarterly past damage.”

The proposal is available at www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com, as is a list of the sources used.

In simplest terms, the proposal contends a 30 percent recovery is expected in 2011, and full recovery — with the exception of oyster harvesting — is anticipated by the close of 2012. A timeline for oyster harvesting recovery has not yet been released.

As written, all claimants except oyster harvesters would receive twice their 2010 documented losses, while oyster harvesters will receive four times their 2010 losses.

The burden of proving “ongoing damage,” however, falls entirely on the substantiation claimants submit.

“If the claimant can demonstrate a sufficient link between the spill and the damage, we will pay it.  But all signs point to the Gulf region recovering at the present time and, therefore, documentation of ongoing damage will be critical to proving the legitimacy of the claim,” Feinberg said.