Anniston Star: Rebuilding the Gulf Coast: State’s congressional delegation should support critical act

Staff Report

After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, BP established a $1 billion pool that would serve as a good-faith down payment on fines and penalties anticipated from the laws that were broken and the damage that was done.

Last week, representatives from the affected Gulf Coast states agreed on $57 million worth of restoration projects. These will be presented for public comment early in 2012.

The criteria for selection were (a.) there had to be a clear environmental benefit; (b.) the projects had to repair damage caused by the spill; (c.) they had to be able to be constructed and implemented quickly; and (d.) there had to be a high likelihood that they would be successful.

Not incidentally, those selecting the projects had to work with BP on calculating the value of the restoration efforts.

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