A group of professors and students at the University of Florida Levin College of Law are researching legal and policy questions related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The working group of eight law professors is part of a larger UF Oil Spill Task Force that is coordinating spill-related research across a wide array of academic disciplines. The project is connected to an even larger push involving a number of Florida colleges and universities to enlist scientists and scholars in the state's response to the spill.

The law school's working group is focusing on admiralty law, federal environmental law, state law and government policies. The group also is examining the effects of the spill on the Florida economy, public health and the environment.

"We're trying to anticipate the questions that will arise," said Jon Mills, a former dean of the law school who is leading the working group. "We'll gather and analyze the existing laws. We have the advantage of having scientists telling us, 'Well, in actuality, the environmental impact in this area won't be seen for years.' We can think about how the law will apply in those cases. A lot of this is going to be developing over time."

Although numerous government panels have formed to examine different aspects of the spill, the UF task force will coordinate a wide array of resources, Mills said.

"We're part of a large, public university with experience ranging from biology and water quality to environmental impacts on tourism," Mills said. "We can get into a room with people who bring all that technical expertise to the table."

Unraveling whether state or federal laws will apply to damages claims is one of many questions Mills expects the working group to take up.

"It's going to be complicated," he said. "We anticipate this is going to be a long-term project."

By Karen Sloan