Window opens for third round of NRDA money


  • December 6, 2013
  • /   Shannon Nickinson
  • /   economy
A third pot  of restoration money was announced this week aimed at righting ecological wrongs caused by the 2010 BP oil spill. These projects are funded through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process, which focuses on the damage to natural resources from the spill and the cost to restore them to pre-spill condition. Before any of the projects are finalized, there is a 60-day public comment period that runs through Feb. 4, 2014. Included in the comment period are two public meetings in Florida; one at the Pensacola Bay Center on Jan. 28 starting with an open house at 6 p.m., followed by a meeting that runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The second is Jan. 29 in Panama City at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1101 U.S. Highway 231, also beginning at 6 p.m. On the list are:  Five Escambia County specific projects:
  • Big Lagoon State Park Boat Ramp Improvement Project - $1,483,990
  • Bob Sikes Pier, Parking and Trail Restoration Project - $1,023,990
  • Florida Gulf Coast Marine Fisheries Hatchery/Enhancement Center Project - $18,793,500
  • Perdido Key Dune Restoration Project - $611,234
  • Perdido Key State Park Beach Boardwalk Improvement Project - $588,500
  • and four regional projects impacting the county are on the list, totaling a potential $45 million investment. 
Four Santa Rosa specific projects:
  • Navarre Beach Park Coastal Access and Dune Restoration Project - $614,630
  • Navarre Beach Park Gulfside Walkover Complex Project - $1,221,847
  • Gulf Breeze Wayside Park Boat Ramp Project - $309,669
  • Developing Enhanced Recreational Opportunities on the Escribano Point Portion of the Yellow River Wildlife Management Area Project - $2,576,365
Four regional projects:
  • Florida Artificial Reef Creation and Restoration Project - $11,463,587
  • Florida Oyster Cultch Placement Project - $5,370,596
  • Florida Seagrass Recovery Project - $2,691,867
  • Scallop Enhancement for Increased Recreational Fishing Opportunity in the Florida Panhandle Project - $2,890,250
The first phase of NRDA projects funded in Escambia County were dune restoration on Pensacola Beach and the construction or repair of four public boat ramps in Pensacola Bay at Navy Point and at Mahogany Mill; in Perdido Bay at Galvez Landing and at Perdido public boat ramp. The dune project was completed in November 2012; the boat ramps are in various stages of completion. Boat ramps cost: $4,406,309. Restoration on the beach: $585,898. The second phase of NRDA projects on shorebird and sea turtle nesting habitats, at a total cost of $6.3 million. They are to take place in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties. These included marking nesting area so that people know they are off limits, predator monitoring, and the installation of more turtle-friendly lighting. Note that these funds differ from the RESTORE Act money the area still is waiting for. RESTORE was a law passed in 2012 that requires 80 percent of the fines paid by BP to the federal government for violations of the Clean Water Act related to the spill be directed to states most impacted by the disaster. The formula for distributing RESTORE funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is:
  • State Allocation and Expenditure - 35% will be split equally among the five Gulf Coast States.
    • In Florida 7% will be allocated to the counties as follows:
      • 75% of the funds going directly to the eight disproportionately affected counties, Escambia County to Wakulla County
      • 25% going to the non-disproportionately impacted Gulf coastal counties.
  • Council Establishment and Allocation – 30% will be allocated to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) to develop and implement the Comprehensive Plan.
    • The State of Florida will prepare a list of project to submit for consideration for inclusion in the initial Comprehensive Plan. The State will coordinate with the counties, other organizations and the public to develop the list of projects to present to the Council.
  • Oil Spill Restoration Impact Allocation – 30% of the funds will be allocated to the five Gulf Coast states based on a formula in the RESTORE Act.
    • These funds will be released to the States upon the Council approving a State’s Expenditure Plan.
    • The State’s Expenditure Plan will be developed and submitted by a consortium of local political subdivisions that includes at a minimum 1 representative of each affected county.
  • Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring and Technology Program - 2.5% will be allocated to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who in consultation with the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, will use the 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 - the remaining 2.5% of the funds will be split equally among the five Gulf Coast States to award competitive grants to nongovernmental entities and consortia in the Gulf Coast region (including public and private institutions of higher education) for the establishment of centers of excellence.
    • For Florida, the Florida Institute of Oceanography will be in charge of awarding the competitive grants.
For all the details about funds related to the Deepwater Horizon spill, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm
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