{ "id": "R43380", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43380", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 586037, "date": "2017-07-24", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T14:17:20.766007", "title": "Gulf Coast Restoration: RESTORE Act and Related Efforts", "summary": "The Gulf of Mexico coastal environment (Gulf Coast) stretches over approximately 600,000 square miles across five U.S. states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It is home to more than 22 million people and more than 15,000 species of sea life. Efforts are ongoing to restore this environment, which has been damaged by specific events such as the Deepwater Horizon spill and hurricanes as well as by disturbances to wetlands and water quality from human alterations and other impacts. The issue for Congress is the implementation, funding, and performance of congressionally sanctioned restoration efforts for the Gulf Coast.\nOngoing Efforts to Restore the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast environment has been degraded over time due to, among other things, altered hydrology, loss of barrier islands and coastal wetland habitat, issues associated with low water quality, and other human impacts and natural processes. Preexisting environmental issues throughout the Gulf Coast have been affected and in some cases exacerbated by natural hazards and manmade catastrophes. Among other events, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread damage to wetland and coastal areas along the Gulf. A number of federal agencies\u2014the Army Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others\u2014are engaged in ongoing efforts to restore areas or aspects of the Gulf Coast environments. Significant state and local efforts to restore the Gulf Coast also have been undertaken, in some cases in consultation with the federal government. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in a new set of restoration efforts and funds.\nRestoration in Response to Deepwater Horizon. The Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010, resulted in an unprecedented discharge of oil in U.S. waters, eventually oiling more than 1,100 miles of U.S. Gulf Coast shoreline. As an identified responsible party, the energy company BP is liable for response (i.e., cleanup) costs, as well as specified economic damages and natural resource damages related to the spill. \nEfforts to mitigate and recover from the Deepwater Horizon spill have initiated several new processes that are expected to supplement ongoing Gulf Coast restoration work. In particular, three major processes are likely to significantly affect restoration work going forward: first, the dissemination of approximately $5.3 billion in Clean Water Act penalties, as required in the RESTORE Act (P.L. 112-141); second, the dissemination of $2.55 billion in criminal penalties from responsible parties by the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), as required under relevant court settlements; and third, the assessment and provision of $8.8 billion in Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) penalties under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, as amended (P.L. 101-380). Initial funding under NFWF and NRDA early restoration efforts was first released in 2013 and 2014, respectively, whereas the Treasury Department and Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council began to release funding for certain planning activities under the RESTORE Act in 2015. \nIssues for Congress. Congressional interest in Gulf Coast restoration may include oversight of previously passed legislation (P.L. 112-141 and P.L. 101-380), including progress to date and any related legislative changes that may be required. Congress also may be interested in the effect of these efforts on ongoing Gulf Coast restoration, coordination between the multiple aforementioned processes, and the effectiveness of these efforts going forward. As a result of differences in the origins and implementation of each effort, Congress has varying degrees of oversight and control over the dissemination of funding to restore the Gulf Coast. Restoration of the Gulf Coast is complicated from a congressional perspective because multiple restoration processes are interrelated but occur largely outside of the traditional appropriations process (including funds being used by nonfederal sources).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43380", "sha1": "6d8f7f405c5d54798264adfbe6fff1185d6d50b0", "filename": "files/20170724_R43380_6d8f7f405c5d54798264adfbe6fff1185d6d50b0.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43380_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170724_R43380_images_ce9dd7da8fe58008beb82c85007226b7cd476587.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43380_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170724_R43380_images_da09972bee6b07d2a59b9e5365b187f30838c60c.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43380", "sha1": "c46823ade211105f66e157ea54d6324c46250d58", "filename": "files/20170724_R43380_c46823ade211105f66e157ea54d6324c46250d58.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4928, "name": "Wildlife & Ecosystems" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 432836, "date": "2014-07-24", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:14:22.129957", "title": "Gulf Coast Restoration: RESTORE Act and Related Efforts", "summary": "The Gulf of Mexico coastal environment (Gulf Coast) stretches over approximately 600,000 square miles across five U.S. states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It is home to more than 22 million people and more than 15,000 species of sea life. This environment has been degraded over time due to, among other things, altered hydrology, loss of barrier islands and coastal wetland habitat, issues associated with low water quality, and other human impacts and natural processes. Pre-existing environmental issues throughout the Gulf Coast have been affected and in some cases exacerbated by recent natural hazards and manmade catastrophes. Among other events, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread damage to wetland and coastal areas along the Gulf. \nA number of federal efforts are ongoing to restore parts of the Gulf Coast, including major projects by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among other federal agencies. Significant state and local efforts to restore the Gulf Coast have also been undertaken, in some cases in consultation with the federal government. \nThe Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010, resulted in an unprecedented discharge of oil in U.S. waters, and eventually resulted in the oiling of over 1,100 miles of shoreline. As an identified responsible party, BP is liable for response (i.e., cleanup) costs, as well as specified economic damages and natural resource damages related to the spill. As of the date of this report, oil cleanup operations continue, as well as various claims processes that seek to compensate parties for damages related to the spill. \nEfforts to mitigate and recover from damages associated from the Deepwater Horizon spill have initiated several new processes that are expected to supplement ongoing Gulf Coast restoration work. In particular, three major processes are likely to significantly affect restoration work going forward: first, the dissemination of Clean Water Act penalties through the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Trust Fund, as required by Congress in the RESTORE Act (P.L. 112-141); second, the dissemination of $2.55 billion in criminal penalties from responsible parties by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as required under relevant court settlements; and third, the assessment and provision of Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) Penalties under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, as amended (P.L. 101-380). While some of the funding under the NFWF and NRDA early restoration efforts was released in 2013 and 2014, funding provided for under the RESTORE Act had not been released as of 2014 due to funding uncertainty and other factors.\nCongressional interest in these efforts may include oversight of previously passed legislation (P.L. 112-141 and P.L. 101-380), including progress to date and any related legislative changes that may be required. Congress may also be interested in the effect of these efforts on ongoing Gulf Coast restoration, coordination between the multiple aforementioned processes, and the effectiveness of these efforts going forward.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43380", "sha1": "696247a888978fc4cc4c2ea7a16c222acb727adf", "filename": "files/20140724_R43380_696247a888978fc4cc4c2ea7a16c222acb727adf.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43380", "sha1": "b155a67293124719ce1cc5764c4f0536313ea5ce", "filename": "files/20140724_R43380_b155a67293124719ce1cc5764c4f0536313ea5ce.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4644, "name": "Federal Role in Ecosystem Restoration" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc463369/", "id": "R43380_2014Jan27", "date": "2014-01-27", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Gulf Coast Restoration: RESTORE Act and Related Efforts", "summary": "This report provides information on environmental damage and restoration activities related to the Deepwater Horizon spill. An overview of how the RESTORE Act is being implemented and a discussion of multiple funding sources and plans to recover and restore the Gulf Coast environment are discussed. Further, potential issues for Congress related to this restoration initiative are presented.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140127_R43380_47f677f867ff37c312801ff54c438d421f5cfbdf.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140127_R43380_47f677f867ff37c312801ff54c438d421f5cfbdf.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil spills and wildlife", "name": "Oil spills and wildlife" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Marine resources", "name": "Marine resources" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Water pollution", "name": "Water pollution" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental protection", "name": "Environmental protection" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Energy Policy", "Environmental Policy", "Science and Technology Policy" ] }