From the Bayou Chico contaminated-sediment remediation project in Escambia County to implementing a canal-management master plan in Monroe County, a multi-state council created after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster has approved numerous projects for areas of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The federally created Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which includes the governors of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, approved Florida’s expenditure plan, which covers 69 projects --- collectively worth more than $291 million --- that are spread across 23 counties.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the approval of the plan on Monday. Money for the projects comes from the settlement of criminal charges against BP and Transocean Deepwater, Inc.
The plan was presented by the Gulf Consortium, which was created in 2012 and consists of one representative of each of Florida’s Gulf Coast counties and six non-voting gubernatorial appointees.
“I am incredibly proud of the work that has been done and the goals that will be accomplished to make Florida better,” Gulf Consortium Chairman Grover Robinson, an Escambia County commissioner, said in a statement released the governor’s office.
