FILE – A car and two dogs sit on the roof of destroyed houses in the small town of Bento Rodrigues after a dam burst in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, November 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal government on Friday reached a multibillion-dollar settlement with mining companies responsible for the 2015 dam collapse, which the government said was the country’s worst environmental disaster.

Under the deal, Samarco — a joint venture between Brazilian mining giant Vale and Anglo-Australian company BHP — will pay 132 billion reais ($23 billion) over 20 years. The payments are meant to compensate for the human, environmental and infrastructure damage caused by the release of a huge amount of toxic mining waste into a major river in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, killing 19 people and devastating entire villages.

“We’re fixing a disaster that could have been avoided, but wasn’t.” President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a room of the presidential palace, surrounded by governors of the affected states, members of his administration, reporters and victims.

Lula’s speech, full of criticism of what he called the irresponsibility of mining companies in chasing profit at the expense of safety, was met with applause from the audience.

The toxic sludge – enough to fill 13,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools – flowed down the Doce River 420 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, contaminating waterways and coastal areas in two neighboring states.

Mining companies told the federal government during negotiations that they had already paid 38 billion reais ($6.7 billion) in reparations.

The settlement includes compensation for more than 300,000 victims, although this figure does not account for all those affected. Twice as many people – 620,000 – brought their case to a UK court on Monday to seek redress.

The class action lawsuit at the High Court in London is seeking an estimated 36 billion pounds ($47 billion) in damages from BHP. The case was filed in the UK because one of BHP’s two main legal entities was based in London at the time.

The London trial prompted the head of Brazil’s Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, to personally request Lula’s commitment to ensure the parties reached an agreement domestically.

“I talked to Lula and I said, ‘Mr. President, there is a case abroad and it will be very damaging to the Brazilian courts if this matter is resolved outside the country. Barroso said on Friday at the presidential palace.

The Brazilian federal government said the victims will receive 35,000 reais ($6,150) each, while fishermen and farmers will be paid 95,000 reais ($17,000) in total in monthly installments over four years.

Cristiano Sales, 42 years old, was born and raised in Bento Rodrigues, one of the neighborhoods in the municipality of Mariana that was washed away by mud nine years ago. When he returned to the ruins of his home three months later, the only item he found was a shirt from his favorite soccer team, Cruzeiro.

Sales lives in a new house in a neighborhood built by mining companies as part of compensation for his father. After filing a lawsuit, he personally received 100,000 reais ($18,000) and is still seeking additional reparations through the London lawsuit.

“Money can’t pay for what I’ve been through here” he said. “We take the money because it is our right. But let’s say 100,000 or even 200,000 or 300,000 could bring back the life I had – I don’t think any amount of money can do that.”

Melbourne, Australia-based BHP said in a statement on October 19 that it believed the UK action was unnecessary because it duplicated issues covered by reparation efforts and legal proceedings in Brazil, but would continue to defend itself.

Pogust Goodhead, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, said on Friday that the Brazilian settlement should have no impact on the London case and that there would be no double compensation. The firm added that its customers have been excluded from negotiations and are continuing to pursue full reparations for outstanding damages.

“The Mariana agreement signed in Brazil on Friday shows that after 9 years of neglect, the mining companies have finally decided to react to the pressure of public opinion and the trial in England, which started last Monday.” said the law firm in a statement. “Even so, the amounts defined fall far short of covering the deep losses suffered by victims, who continue to fight for justice and full reparations.”