Annie Snider, E&E reporter
\nPublished: Thursday, August 22, 2013<\/p>\n
The federal-state panel tasked with overseeing the billions of dollars
\nexpected to flow to the Gulf Coast from civil fines related to the 2010
\nDeepwater Horizon oil spill yesterday released a final plan for how it
\nwill spend the money on restoring the region’s ecosystems and
\neconomies.<\/p>\n
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council received more than 41,000
\ncomments on the draft plan it released in May and incorporated a
\nhandful of changes into the final “Initial Comprehensive Plan” released
\nyesterday. The council is scheduled to vote on that plan next week in
\nNew Orleans.<\/p>\n
Under the RESTORE Act passed by Congress last year, 80 percent of Clean
\nWater Act civil penalties from the oil spill will be sent back to the
\nGulf through the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Trust Fund. The
\ncouncil — comprising officials from six federal agencies and the five
\nGulf states — oversees 60 percent of those funds. Thirty percent will
\ngo to projects selected by the council, and another 30 percent will go
\nto initiatives selected by the states and approved by the panel.<\/p>\n
The “Initial Comprehensive Plan” sets overarching restoration goals for
\nthe region, lays out how the council will evaluate and fund projects
\nand describes how it will consider states’ plans for spending their
\nshare of the money.<\/p>\n
Among the changes made in the final plan is an increased focus on
\nincorporating science into the council’s work. The plan states that the
\ncouncil is considering “the most effective means of ensuring that the
\nCouncil’s decisions are based on the best available science.” This
\ncould include forming a scientific advisory committee or another
\nvehicle that would work across Gulf restoration efforts, it says. In
\nthe council’s response to public comments, it also raises the
\npossibility of hiring a chief scientist.<\/p>\n
The plan also includes a greater emphasis on public engagement. It
\nstates that the council “will take steps to create a public engagement
\nstructure” and that additional announcements on this are forthcoming.<\/p>\n
Like the draft plan released in May, the final document does not
\ninclude a 10-year plan for allocating the money or a list of priority
\nprojects and programs, both of which were already due under the RESTORE
\nAct. The council said it did not include these elements because of
\nuncertainties related to the amount of money that will ultimately flow
\nto the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Trust Fund, the fact that the
\nTreasury Department has not yet issued procedures for spending the
\nfunds, the desire to receive public comment on key elements of the plan
\nfirst and the states’ ongoing efforts to develop their own spending
\nplans.<\/p>\n
The Treasury Department sent its proposed rule to the Office of
\nManagement and Budget earlier this month, and it could be finalized
\nsoon.<\/p>\n
The leading coalition of environmental groups working in the Gulf Coast
\nreleased a statement on the plan last night.<\/p>\n
“We thank the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council for its efforts
\ntoward a comprehensive plan to restore the invaluable Gulf ecosystem,”
\nsaid the group, which includes the Environmental Defense Fund, National
\nAudubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore
\nCoastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. “As the
\nCouncil takes its next crucial step of prioritizing ecosystem
\nrestoration projects, we urge them to embrace the Louisiana Coastal
\nMaster Plan as its guiding document for restoring the Mississippi River
\nDelta, which was ground zero for the 2010 Gulf oil disaster.”<\/p>\n
Currently, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Trust Fund is scheduled
\nto receive $800 million within the next two years from Transocean
\nLtd.’s Clean Water Act civil settlement. BP PLC could be facing a civil
\npenalty of as much as $17.6 billion under the Clean Water Act,
\ndepending on how negligent the driller is found to have been leading up
\nto the spill. The second phase in the federal trial against the oil
\ngiant is scheduled to begin next month.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Annie Snider, E&E reporter Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 The federal-state panel tasked with overseeing the billions of dollars expected to flow to the Gulf Coast from civil fines related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill yesterday released a final plan for how it will spend the money on restoring the region’s ecosystems and … Continue reading E&E: Restoration panel adds scientific oversight to plan for spending spill fines<\/span>