The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council recently approved the initial Funded Priorities List, or FPL, of projects to be funded pursuant to the RESTORE Act during a meeting at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center.
Three projects totaling more than $6.5 million were approved for funding in Pensacola Bay and Escambia County. Planning for the proposed Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline Project along the western shore of Pensacola Bay was funded for $231,314 and construction of the Beach Haven Joint Stormwater and Wastewater Improvement Project was funded for $5.96 million. Funding for the Bayou Chico Contaminated Sediment Removal Project was also approved for the amount of $356,850.
The RESTORE Act was passed in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and dedicates 80 percent of all Clean Water Act administrative and civil penalties to the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund. The FPL will use currently available funds for planning and on-the-ground restoration projects in ten key watersheds across the Gulf of Mexico, including four in the state of Florida – Pensacola Bay, Apalachicola Bay, Suwannee Watershed and Tampa Bay.