Four Gulf States, including Texas, recently received another $280 million in restoration grants from the BP oil spill of 2010. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation says Texas is getting $19 million dollars, including $6 million to protect about 575 acres of coastal habitat.
Over five years, the foundation is getting $2.5 billion for restoration projects. The money is from criminal damages paid by BP PLC and drilling company Transocean Deepwater Inc.
“The settlement marked an opportunity to really start towards restoration of the resources that were impacted by the spill,” Robin Riechers, Director of Coastal Fisheries for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told Houston Matters.
In addition to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, Riechers said the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Funds and the Restore Act Funds also received money from the settlement.
“There’s many projects up and down the coast that are maybe smaller than those grand scale ones, but are just as equally important,” Riechers said. “Whether it’s a shoreline stabilization project, an oyster reef restoration, a wetland restoration in a critical area, a rookery island restoration for migrations of birds and birds that roost along our Texas coast — all of them are important.”
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Source: Houston Public Media
