The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced that the Mississippi Initial State Expenditure Plan was approved by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council).
The plan will run about $49.8 million dollars and describes three projects under the RESTORE Act.
The projects that were approved include the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Quality Improvement Program ($45 million), Pascagoula Oyster Reef Complex Relay and Enhancement ($3.5 million), and Compatibility, Coordination, and Restoration Planning ($1.3 million).
“Mississippi has developed a SEP that effectively addresses the requirements set forth in the RESTORE Act, Treasury regulations and SEP Guidelines. We look forward to working with Mississippi to help ensure an efficient grants process for the activities approved in the SEP,” said Ben Scaggs, Acting Executive Director, RESTORE Council.
80 percent of the Clean Water Act civil and administrative penalties are made available under the act. Those penalties paid for by the responsible parties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Oil Spill Impact Component, or Bucket 3 account, makes up 30 percent of the funds in the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund. RESTORE will receive 19.07 percent of the 30 percent.
