In a move hailed as “significant progress in maximizing funds coming to Florida,” Gov. Rick Scott has signed on to help the Gulf Consortium create a process through which RESTORE Act dollars flowing into the state will be spent.
The RESTORE Act, federal legislation passed in June 2012, dictates how BP penalties resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be divvied up between five Gulf Coast states affected by the spill.
Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties are among eight Florida counties slated to receive the lion’s share of fine money coming to the state.
Scott and the Gulf Consortium have agreed to work together to develop Florida’s State Expenditure Plans for RESTORE funding, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Under terms of the agreement, Scott will appoint six non-voting members to the consortium, which is made up of representatives from 23 Gulf Coast counties, according to Okaloosa County Commissioner Dave Parisot, who sits on the consortium.
“It goes back to an agreement approved by the Gulf Consortium back in April,” Parisot said. “It’s kind of been sitting on the governor’s desk until he got around to signing it.”
After “a lot of negotiations went back and forth” between Scott and the consortium, the governor announced June 28 that he had signed the memorandum of understanding.
According to the governor’s news release, key provisions of the agreement include:
l A streamlined process to review projects for funding consideration.
l Project certification by the governor.
l Submission of projects and programs included in the State Expenditure Plan.
Projects approved through the expenditure plan will go to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.
The council is comprised of the governors of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and representatives of six federal agencies. The projects to be developed will be those intended to repair economic and environmental damage done by the oil spill off Louisiana.
“This agreement with the governor provides us with the opportunity to fully coordinate the collective efforts of all levels of government,” said Grover Robinson, an Escambia County commissioner and chairman of Florida’s Gulf Consortium.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.