Updates on Gulf of Mexico Restoration (Post Deepwater Horizon)

Transcription

1 Updates on Gulf of Mexico Restoration (Post Deepwater Horizon) Today s Presenters: Paul Anninos, Vice President Diana Lane, Principal Associate Abt Associates Jamie Reinhardt, DWH Fish Restoration Coordinator Laurie Rounds Marine Habitat Resource Specialist NOAA Restoration Center Executive Briefing for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission GSMFC Annual Meeting March 15, 2018 Panama City Beach, FL Buck Sutter, Dep. Exec. Director & Program Director Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Julien Lartigue, Director NOAA RESTORE Science Program Elizabeth (Libby) Fetherston-Resch, Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program Florida Institute of Oceanography

2 Overview of Deepwater Horizon Insert Title Restoration Here Funding Sources Insert Subtitle Prepared for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Business Meeting Diana Lane Paul Anninos March 15, 2018

3 Key DWH court settlements Credit: U.S. Coast Guard

4 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

5 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 goal Fund projects benefiting the natural resources of the Gulf Coast impacted by the spill

6 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)

7 RESTORE Act 2012 passage of RESTORE Act Directs 80% of administrative and civil penalties to the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund Overall goal Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States ( RESTORE )

8 RESTORE Act Funding Pots $1.9 B Direct Component $1.6 B Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council $1.6 B Spill Impact Component $133 M Science Program $133 M Centers of Excellence Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5 To States in equal amounts for ecological and economic restoration To the RESTORE Council for a sciencebased 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

9 Timing of RESTORE Act Funding year payout year payout 2015 Immediate payout Source: Environmental Law Institute

10 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 goal Restore natural resources, ecological services, and recreational use services injured or lost as a result of the spill

11 Trustee Restoration Goals Selected Alternative: Comprehensive, integrated ecosystem restoration

12 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

13 Funding comparison GEBF + NRDA + RESTORE ACT = $16.7B $5.3B $2.5B $8.8B

14 Example Projects GEBF and NRDA wetland and oyster habitat restoration in all states GEBF fish monitoring projects in MS, AL, FL NRDA: Oceanic Fish Restoration Project Challenge of integrating monitoring results, findings, lessons learned across programs and states

15 Insert Title Here Insert Subtitle THANK YOU abtassociates.com