Updates on Gulf of Mexico Restoration (Post Deepwater Horizon)

Executive Briefing for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission GSMFC Annual MeetingMarch 15, 2018Panama City Beach, FL

Today’s Presenters:

Paul Anninos, Vice PresidentDiana Lane, Principal AssociateAbt Associates

Jamie Reinhardt, DWH Fish Restoration CoordinatorLaurie Rounds Marine Habitat Resource SpecialistNOAA Restoration Center

Buck Sutter, Dep. Exec. Director & Program DirectorGulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

Julien Lartigue, DirectorNOAA RESTORE Science Program

Elizabeth (Libby) Fetherston-Resch, Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence ProgramFlorida Institute of Oceanography

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Overview of Deepwater Horizon Restoration Funding SourcesPrepared for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Business Meeting

Diana LanePaul Anninos

March 15, 2018

Key DWH court settlements

Credit: U.S. Coast Guard

Negligence: criminal penalties Clean Water Act violations: civil penalties, based on volume of oil and environmental harm

Fishery closures: compensation for economic and property damage

Injured natural resources: NRDA settlement to fund restoration

Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund

2013 settlement of criminal penalties

$2.5B to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the GEBF

Five-year payout schedule

Allocations for projects in each state

Overall goalFund projects benefiting the natural resources of the Gulf Coast impacted by the spill

Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund

• Overall to date: 121 projects for nearly $1 billion

• Example: Enhanced Fisheries Monitoring and Assessments Florida: Enhanced Assessment of Gulf of Mexico Fisheries

(5 phases)

Alabama: Enhanced Fisheries Monitoring in Alabama’s Marine Waters (3 phases)

Mississippi: Reef Fish Assessment for Mississippi Coastal and Nearshore Gulf Waters (2 phases)

RESTORE Act

2012 passage of RESTORE Act

Directs 80% of administrative and civil penalties to the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund

Overall goalResources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (“RESTORE”)

RESTORE Act Funding “Pots”

To the “RESTORE” Council for a science-based plan to restore

and protect Gulf natural resources

To States based on oil impacts for

ecological and economic

restoration

To a NOAA-led program to fund research, observation, and

monitoring to support the long-term sustainability of Gulf

ecosystems and fisheries

To States to establish centers focused on

science, technology, and monitoring

To States in equal amounts for ecological and

economic restoration

Pot 1

$1.9 BDirect Component

Pot 2 Pot 3Pot 4 Pot 5

$1.6 BGulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

$1.6 BSpill Impact Component

$133 MScience Program

$133 MCenters of Excellence

Timing of RESTORE Act Funding

Source: Environmental Law Institute

2017

15-year payout

2013

2-year payout

2015

Immediate payout

Natural Resource Damage Assessment

2011 Early Restoration framework

Up to $1 billion for early restoration projects (5 phases)

2016 settlement with BP for up to $8.8 billion

Guided by Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS)

Overall goalRestore natural resources, ecological services, and recreational use services injured or lost as a result of the spill

Trustee Restoration Goals

Selected Alternative: Comprehensive, integrated ecosystem restoration

NRDA Trustee Funding Allocations

Restoration activities governed by Trustee Implementation Groups (TIGs) – Open Ocean, Regionwide, and 5 State TIGs (see columns)

Restoration funding allocated by categories (see rows)

Example: $380M for fish and water column invertebrates; governed by “open ocean” TIG

Funding comparison

$2.5B

$8.8B

$5.3B

GEBF + NRDA + RESTORE ACT = $16.7B

Example Projects

NRDA: Oceanic Fish Restoration Project

GEBF fish monitoring projects in MS, AL, FL

GEBF and NRDA wetland and oyster habitat restoration in all states

Challenge of integrating monitoring results, findings, lessons learned across programs and states

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