USA: Officials Discuss RESTORE Act

U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, met with Secretary Penny Pritzker of the U.S. Department of Commerce to discuss his concerns regarding the allocation of funds from the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).

Vitter requested this meeting last month to make sure the Administration fully understands the legislation and how the funds from the civil penalties are intended to be broken down between states.

“With over 671 miles of oiled shoreline, Louisiana suffered the greatest impacts from the 2010 oil spill. Other states were certainly impacted, but Louisiana’s whole economy was impaired – our seafood, recreational, and commercial industries were devastated,” said Vitter. “I asked for this meeting to reiterate to the Administration we’d like them to move forward in implementing fund recovery procedures under the RESTORE Act in a fair and transparent manner.”

Vitter was an original co-sponsor of the RESTORE Act, which dedicates at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to the Gulf states to restore coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

On April 15, 2014, Vitter along with U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise and Bill Cassidy pressed the U.S. Department of Treasury to speed up the process developing and finalizing the regulations that will govern how the funds are disbursed to the states.

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Press Release, June 13, 2014