After a 45-day public review and comment period, the Santa Rosa County Commissioners approved submittal of the Santa Rosa County Multi-Year Implementation Plan (MYIP) to the U.S. Treasury.
The plan includes 15 projects representing a range of activities eligible under the RESTORE Act such as workforce development and job creation, and restoration and protection of the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats.
Upon receipt, the treasury will conduct a review of completeness and compliance with RESTORE Act regulations. The review is expected to take 90 days or less, and upon acceptance by the treasury, the county will be authorized to submit individual grant applications for the projects in the plan. A timeline for implementation of projects is dependent upon plan and grant application review and award processes; however, some projects may begin to receive approvals in the fall of 2016. Information related to the MYIP, including a list of projects selected can be viewed on the RESTORE page on the county website. Santa Rosa County will also see benefits from other Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill related funding sources.
Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA)
The county has recently entered into grant agreements for two projects funded through Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA), Phase III.
A sea turtle lighting grant in the amount of $117,061 which includes retrofitting light fixtures, installation of tinting, or other actions to reduce lights visible from the turtle nesting beach.
A Florida artificial reef creation and restoration grant in the amount of $1,469,817 to create two artificial reefs – SR26, which is an expansion of the existing inshore snorkeling reef and SR27, a near-shore fish/dive reef.
Additionally, as a part of NRDA, Phase III, the state will be managing three projects in Santa Rosa County.
The Navarre Beach Park Gulfside Walkover Complex is a $1,221,847 project to enhance access to the shoreline at Navarre Beach Park. The improvements include construction of an entrance, driveway and parking area; restroom facility; pavilions with boardwalk connections; lifeguard tower; and a dune walkover that will provide beach access.
The Navarre Beach Park Coastal Access and Dune Restoration Project is a $614,630 project that will improve public access the beach and water of Santa Rosa Sound. The improvements include construction of two new beach access boardwalks from existing pavilion/parking lot areas to the Santa Rosa Sound. Additionally, a new kayak/canoe launch and boardwalk will be constructed to increase opportunities/access for recreational boating in the sound. The project will also restore a roughly one acre of degraded dune habitat to enhance the recreational experience by helping return the area to a more natural state.
Escribano Point Enhanced Recreational Opportunities includes $2,576,365 for assessment and mapping activities necessary to develop the site for outdoor recreation purposes, hurricane debris removal and road repair, constructing an entrance kiosk, information facilities, a parking area, interpretive fishing facilities, primitive camping sites, wildlife viewing areas, and bear-proof containers for trash and food storage.
Santa Rosa County will also benefit from several regional NRDA funded projects including:
* Beach enhancement project at Gulf Islands National Seashore
* Enhanced management of avian breeding habitat injured by response activities in the panhandle
* Seagrass recovery project at Gulf Islands National Seashore
For more information, visit www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Nature Conservancy’s $1,957,600 Eastern Pensacola Bay Oyster Habitat Restoration – Phase I is the first step in a comprehensive effort to design and construct oyster habitat along approximately eight miles of shoreline in East and Blackwater bays to enhance nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally important finfish and shellfish. This project is being leveraged by the Santa Rosa County Oyster Habitat Restoration Project included in the RESTORE MYIP.
Future Funding
Santa Rosa could potentially benefit from other future sources of funding as well.
Triumph Gulf Coast – Triumph Gulf Coast is a nonprofit corporation organized to oversee 75 percent of all funds recovered by the Florida attorney general for economic damages to the state that resulted from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Future phases of NRDA
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Allocation – Using funds from the settlement with Transocean Deepwater Inc. for initial investments, the council is seeking to address critical needs of 10 key watersheds across the gulf to help restore the region’s ecosystem and strengthen economic resilience. Projects will help to revitalize the region through skills training, improvements in water quality, and habitat restoration critical to juvenile fish and endangered birds and sea turtles.
Spill Impact Component – In Florida, the Gulf Consortium will develop the State Expenditure Plan (SEP). These funds will be released to the state upon the council approving the SEP.
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring and Technology Program – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who in consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, will use funds to carry out research, observation and monitoring to support, to the maximum extent practicable, the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem, fish stocks, fish habitat and the recreational, commercial and charter fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
Centers of Excellence Research Grants – Funds will be split equally among the five gulf coast states to award competitive grants to nongovernmental entities and consortia in the region (including public and private institutions of higher education) for the establishment of centers of excellence. The Florida Institute of Oceanography will award the competitive grants.
For more information on the different sources of funding related to the BP oil spill, see the “Flow of Oil Spill Funds in Florida” on the Santa Rosa County web site – www.santarosa.fl.gov/bocc/restore.cfm.
