Time to Speak Up About Gulf Restoration
Posted June 13, 2013 09:45 am
Oil soaked wildlife. (origin of photo unknown)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The civil trial against BP for the Deepwater Horizon disaster is in recess, but preparation and planning continues for how the funds awarded will be spent to restore the Gulf of Mexico.
There were also human victims of the disaster. (Alex
Wong//Getty Images)(from
Boston.com)
The last of six public listening sessions will be held Monday in St. Petersburg to give the public a chance to weigh in on how the millions or even billions of dollars should be allocated. Jay Liles, policy consultant for the Florida Wildlife Federation, said planning is key.
"This is a large-scale vision," he said, "because
we're talking about a fairly large - if not the largest
- environmental expenditure in history."
The Restore Act, passed last year, allocates 80 percent
of Clean Water Act damages paid by BP to be spent on
Gulf Coast restoration and improvements. Monday's
meeting will be sponsored by the Restoration Council,
which is made up of representatives from each Gulf Coast
state and six federal agencies.
Jessica Koelsch, Gulf Coast restoration specialist for
the National Wildlife Federation, said it's important to
keep the money focused on its intended use.
"We don't want to see the money wasted on projects that do not have a benefit to the ecosystem or in fact even do harm to the ecosystem," she said.
Last hours of the Deepwater Horizon
Liles said the billions of dollars BP is expected to
have to pay in fines should fix the damage done and also
help facilitate plans for the future.
"This was the whole intent of the Clean Water Act,"
Liles said, "that you go back and fix it and then you
make up for the damage done over a long period."
The Restoration Council's listening session is to be
held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute, 100 Eighth Ave. SE, St. Petersburg.
Photos and links added by the Observer