Applications are now open for Gulf Coast Restoration Fund grants, which are awarded annually using settlement money Mississippi received from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Mississippi Development Authority announced that its latest application window opened June 1 and will run through July 31. MDA has posted the application portal here.
Mississippi reached a $750 million settlement with BP in 2016, which included an initial $150 million payment and $40 million annual payments that began in 2019 and will continue through 2033.
The Gulf Coast Restoration Fund receives $30 million of the settlement funds each year and distributes the money to support economic growth and development in the state’s six coastal counties, according to MDA. Those counties are George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, and Stone.
Eligible applicants include local governments, nongovernmental organizations, public and private educational institutions, ports and airports, public-private partnerships, private entities, nonprofit organizations, and local economic development groups.
After applications are received, the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund Board – a seven-member panel created by lawmakers in 2016 to help guide distribution of the funds – will submit recommendations to MDA. MDA, which has a primary administrative role in overseeing the settlement’s economic damages portion, will then submit recommendations to the Legislature, which will make the final decisions during the 2027 session.
