RESTORE Act
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The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) was signed into law on July 6, 2012 as part of the Transportation Reauthorization bill known as MAP-21. The RESTORE Act effort first came together in the fall of 2011, when legislators from the Gulf Coast states came together with the goal of returning Clean Water Act fines to the Gulf Coast states affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. I have also had the privilege of working with local officials and community groups who contributed to the success of the RESTORE Act. Passage of the RESTORE Act represents a significant and unprecedented achievement for the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I am proud to have been a part of this historic effort.
The RESTORE Act will take 80% of the civil penalties ultimately paid in connection with the spill and distribute the funding to the five affected states: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Texas. Recent estimates indicate that the total fines could range from $5 billion to $21 billion.
The RESTORE Act funding breakdown includes:
- 35% directly to the states, divided equally among all 5 states, to be used for environmental restoration, natural resource damage mitigation, fisheries monitoring, workforce development and job creation, improvements to state parks, infrastructure projects, coastal flood protection, planning assistance, tourism promotion, recreational fishing, and seafood promotion.
- 30% to the states based on a formula to develop a state plan of restoration. The formula for each state is 40% based on proportionate number of shoreline that experienced oiling, 40% based on inverse proportion of the average distance from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and 20% based on average population of the coastal counties within each Gulf Coast State.
- 30% to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, a council made up of 6 federal members and 5 state representatives appointed by the governor, that will create a comprehensive plan to restore and protect the ecosystems, wetlands, and natural resources of the Gulf Coast region.
- 5% for the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology Program to provide grants for marine research, ecosystem monitoring, data collection, and other Gulf research activities.
The State of Mississippi has created the GO COAST 2020 organization to provide a state plan for utilizing RESTORE Act dollars. Please visit http://www.gocoast2020.com/ for more information.
I will continue to work with community and state leaders to ensure funds received as a result of the RESTORE Act are used to benefit South Mississippi, with the input of South Mississippians, in the most responsible manner possible.
Below, you can read more about my work and views on the RESTORE Act.