Exxon Valdez has finally begun to give money to lawsuit claimants 20 years after its 11 million gallon oil spill in the Prince William Sound.

Earlier this week, commercial fishermen involved in the lawsuit received direct deposit payouts, and paper checks will go out next week.

Total payments from the lawsuit will come to about $383 million distributed among nearly 33,000 plaintiffs.

Though the payout appears to be a hefty one, it is only a fraction of what Exxon Valdex originally agreed to pay. A jury decided in 1994 that the company owed $5 billion for the spill. However, lawyers for the company reduced the payout amount over the years.

This past summer, the US Supreme Court ruled that the company also owes up to $507.5 million in punitive damages.

Claimants in the lawsuit aren't that excited about the payout, but who can blame them? It's a classic case of too little, too late.