Santa Rosa County residents in search of RESTORE Act funding for their projects can begin submitting their requests as of Monday. About $4.4 million is available.
Passed by Congress in 2012, the RESTORE Act diverts 80% of any civil and administrative Clean Water Act penalties related to the 2010 BP oil spill to the five Gulf Coast states, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, for ecological and economic restoration.
This money is from the settlement with Transocean for its part in the spill, a small part of what could be up to $75 million Santa Rosa the county may receive, once litigation and Clean Water Act fines against BP are finalized. All requests are being overseen by county’s 11-member RESTORE Council.
Organizations with multiple projects should submit each project separately. It’s also necessary that proposals be submitted during this cycle, even project ideas previously submitted online. The first step for applicants is to go to the Santa Rosa County website.
Amid seeking proposals for projects to be included in the county’s RESTORE Multi-Year Implementation Plan, Harris says a workshop is scheduled for Feb. 9, to help applicants make those requests.
The funding for the county’s multi-year plan, called the direct component, is just one of the many sources of funding associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It sets aside 35% of the penalties paid into the Trust Fund for eligible activities proposed by the affected states.
