Friday, May 3, 2013
BP to pay $600M for Gulf restoration projects
BP has reached a tentative agreement with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees to fund more than $600 million in post-oil spill restoration projects located in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The 28 projects will reportedly focus on restoration of marshes, barrier islands, dunes, near shore marine environments, and includes several projects to enhance access to recreational and other human-use opportunities across the Gulf.
This preliminary step is part of an agreement for BP to provide $1 billion for restoration before the completion of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment.
"The Department of the Interior is pleased the Trustees are moving forward with planning and public review of this proposed suite of early restoration projects," said Rachel Jacobson, acting assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks at Interior. "The Trustees have already helped jump-start Gulf restoration with the selection last year of ten projects totaling $71 million. Those projects were presented to the public as draft early restoration plans - a total of 13 meetings were held – before the projects were finalized. The Trustees will use the same process of working with communities on this new group of proposed projects."
The DOI supports several of the proposals, including $15 million in restoration work to address injuries at Gulf Islands National Seashore, and $72 million to address oil-spill damage at Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the statement said.
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