NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Coast Guard has approved a plan to end cleanup along the Gulf Coast from the BP oil spill, a move officials said opens a new phase of work for BP - restoring areas damaged by the largest offshore spill in U.S. history.

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According to the document obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the plan "provides the mechanisms for ceasing active clean-up operations."

In it, the Coast Guard spells out protocol for ending the cleanup. It has been going on since April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Suzanne Kerver says the shoreline plan outlines "the standard for clean."

She said about 10 percent of the Gulf Coast fouled by the BP spill remains to be cleaned.