The Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund Launched Today
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has kicked off the Gulf Environmental Fund today, in which the foundation will execute $2.544 billion in plea agreements from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As part of the Gulf Environmental Fund, the NFWF will be funding approved projects in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas – coast states that were each affected by the oil spill. The NFWF has been working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine which projects will be selected by the fund.
“We will work to develop consensus among the state and federal resource agencies to identify projects that meet the conditions of the plea agreement to benefit the natural resources of the Gulf Coast,” said Jeff Trandahl, NFWF executive director and CEO.
Under the conditions of the fund, $1.272 billion will be used for barrier island and river diversion projects in Louisiana; Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi will receive $356 million for natural resource projects; and Texas will obtain $203 million for various projects, as well. Payments to the fund will be distributed over the next five years.