Gulf Coast RESTORE Act Passes Big Hurdle
Posted March 09, 2012 09:46 am
By
Stephanie Carroll Carson
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida and other Gulf Coast states are one step closer to restoration of areas damaged by the 2010 BP oil spill.
The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 76-22 to pass the RESTORE Act, which would set up a trust to be funded by the billions of dollars BP is expected to pay the United States in punitive damages because of the spill.
LINK:
A Citizen's Guide to the RESTORE Act
David White, director of Gulf of Mexico
restoration for the
National
Wildlife Federation, calls the vote an important
first step in protecting a vital resource for the
nation.
"It's incredibly important, in terms of the gross
domestic product of the United States. It provides 90
percent of the shrimp that comes from America. It's
incredibly important."
The RESTORE Act will move on to the House. The exact
amount of punitive damages is still being calculated,
and the case between BP and the United States will
either go through mediation or to court. From $5 billion
to $25 billion is expected, a range White calls a
conservative estimate.
The RESTORE Act would ensure that 80 percent of the
money collected as a result of the punitive damages will
go to the Gulf of Mexico. White says the trust fund
would help with economic and ecologic recovery and set
up a science and fisheries endowment.
"It's not just about oil and gas. There's a large dead
zone out in the Gulf of Mexico that very few things can
live in."
Under current law, the Clean Water Act gives the federal
government the authority to fine parties responsible for
an oil spill, but the penalties paid are not necessarily
returned to the area affected.