Conservation groups said a ruling that BP was grossly negligent in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill brings a sense of justice to the region and its environment.

A district court in Louisiana ruled BP's activities at the Macondo well beneath the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico amounted to willful misconduct.

A statement issued in response by Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation said justice was served in the case.

"A court of law has confirmed that risky and reckless behavior has consequences," they said in a statement Thursday. "The areas most damaged by the spill cannot wait any longer for restoration to begin."

In a 152-page ruling, the court ruled a series of BP failures at the well "created the catastrophic situation" that lead to the 2010 spill.

BP in a statement said the record "does not support the erroneous conclusion" reached by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier. Barbier's ruling means BP may be liable for as much as $18 billion, about four times as much as the maximum for violating the federal Clean Water Act.

The conservation groups said the ruling is a necessary step in "holding BP and other parties responsible for the largest oil spill in our nation's history."

Barbier divided the blame among BP, with 67 percent, rig owner Transocean, with 30 percent, and oil services company Halliburton, with 3 percent.