Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-22-11 regular — reading text

will be collected long before Natural Resource Damages Assessment ( NRDA) has been completed and are completely separate from that process. According to current legislation that pool of money from the fines will go into a general account then to be appropriated to any of the 50 states. I am writing to ask you to pass a Resolution in support of HR56 which requires 800/o of those fines to go directly to the Gulf States ( rather than the general fund). There has yet to be a bill introduced in the Senate, however, Landrieu and Vitter are said to be working on one. I believe a resolution is an excellent way to show our support of this plan. These CWA 2/ 11/ 2011  Page 2 o funds will be vital to kick start restoration and recovery in NWFL. I am happy to discuss this further with any of you if you like. I am attaching a draft Resolution for your convenience and the 9 page bill can be found here: http : / www. / aovtrack. us/ congress /billtext. xpd ?bill= h112 -56 Please let me know your opinion on the matter and thank you for your time and dedication to our community! Chasidy Fisher Hobbs Coastkeeper & Executive Director Emerald Coastkeeper, Inc. 850 -429 -8422 chasidyCa)emeraldcoastkeeper. org www. emeraldcoastkeer)er. org We need members to help in our fight for clean water. Please Join NOW: www. emeraldcoastkeener. ora /donate Proud member of WATERKEEPER Alliance http:// www. waterkeeper. org Donate to all Waterkeepers on the Gulf Coast: http: / /www. saveourgulf.org Never underestimate the power a few dedicated citizens have to change the world, indeed that is all that ever has" Margaret Mead 2/ 11/ 2011 Read The Bill: H.R. 56 - GovTrack.us Page 1 o GovTrack. us M..__. ,.., Thanks to about 2, 000 ofyou who took our Future of Go- -Track survey! We'll be looking over our feedback! ( Thanks al& individual who wrote, "The most frustrating aspect about Gov- Track is that not enough people know about it. "!) Congress > Legislation > 2011 -2012 ( 112th Congress) > H. R. 56 Text of H.R. 56: To provide for restoration of the dsov coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by tho Deepwater... Jan 5, 2011 - Introduced in House. This is the original text of the bill a written by its sponsor and submitted to the House for consideration. Ti- the latest version of the bill currently available on GovTrack. HR 56 IH 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 56 To provide for restoration of the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January S, 2011 Mr. SCALISE ( for himself, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. LANDRY, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. RICHMOND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall wi the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for restoration of the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Gulf Coast Restoration Act'. http:// www.govtrack.us/ congress/ billtext.xpd?bill=hl 12- 56 Read The Bill: H.R. 56 - GovTrack.us Page 2 o 14,1, a SEC. 2. GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION. a) Definitions- In this section: 1) CHAIR- The term `Chair' means the Chair of the Task Force appointed under subsection ( d) 3). 2) STATE COASTAL ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PLAN- The term ' State Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Plan' means a plan submitted under subsection ( c) by a qualifying State to the Task Fo rce. 3) FUND- The term ' Fund' means the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Fund established by subsection ( b)( 2)( A). 4) GOVERNORS- The term Governors' means the Governors of each of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 5) GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM- The term `Gulf Coast ecosystem' means the coastal zones, as determined pursuant to the Coastal Zone Managemer Act of 1972 ( 16 U. S. C. 1451 et seq.), of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas ar adjacent State waters and areas of the outer Continental Shelf, adversely impacted by the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, and resulting hydrocarbon releases into the environment. 6) SECRETARY- The term ' Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior. 7) QUALIFYING STATE- The term ' qualifying State' means each of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 8) TASK FORCE- The term ' Task Force' means the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force established by subsection ( d). b) Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration- 1) IN GENERAL- In accordance with this section, the Chair shall review and approve or disapprove State Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Plan submitted by the Governors that provide for restorath activities with respect to the Gulf Coast ecosystem. 2) GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION FUND- A) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the ' Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Fund'. B) TRANSFERS TO FUND - Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit into the Fund amounts equal to not less than 8 http:// www.govtrack.uskongress/ billtext.xpd?bill=hl 12- 56 Read The Bill: H.R. 56 - GovTrack.us Page 3 0 I , , 14.ta ] percent of any amounts collected by the Unitec States as penalties, settlements, or fines under sections 309 and 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U. S. C. 1319, 1321) in relation to the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, and