Okaloosa County BOCC — October 6, 2015 — RESTORE Funds Distribution Acceleration Letter

Board of County Commissioners State of Florida October 6, 2015 Senator Bill Nelson Senator Marco Rubio Representative Jeff Miller (D-1) Representative Gwen Graham (D-2) Representative Ted Yoho (D-3) Representative Richard Nugent (D-11) Representative Gus Biliarakis (D-12) Representative David Jolly (D-13) Representative Kathy Castor (D-14) Representative Vern Buchanan (D-16) Representative Tom Rooney (D-17) Representative Curt Clawson (D-19) Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (D-25) Representative Carlos Curbelo (D-26) Re: Acceleration Options for RESTORE Funds Distribution Dear Florida Delegation Members: On July 2, 2015, the conceptual settlement for the BP Deepwater Horizon litigation was announced outlining a path to its conclusion and distribution of funds. A major part of this settlement will finalize claims related to the Clean Water Act and distribute funds pursuant to the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (“RESTORE Act”). As part of the announcement, a process was also outlined whereby public comment on the settlement would be sought. As a core matter in the settlement, we believe the goal of all parties should be to effectively distribute funds in such a manner as to expedite recovery of the environment and economy of the Gulf of Mexico. The availability of bonding or a similar mechanism to allow counties and states the option to accelerate access to their share of funds as defined in the settlement agreement would provide flexibility to distribute funds quickly and efficiently to those who will lead recovery efforts. We write in advance of that public comment process to address three fundamental concerns: 1. If the Direct Impact and Spill Impact Component funds are divided equally under their respective payouts over 15 years, then each year would include a similar or level amount available for distribution and expenditure. Due to project priorities or phasing needs, there may be a need to exceed a “level” amount of funds in any given year or increase early year over later year distributions. 302 N. Wilson St 1250 N. Eglin Pkwy, Suite 101 Crestview, FL 32536 Shalimar, FL 32579 (850) 689-5030 • Fax: 689-5059 (850) 651-7105 • Fax: 651-7142 2. Government recipients of funds are currently in the process of developing policies and procedures to receive, allocate and report on settlement funds. This process mirrors typical federal grant procedures and can be complex requiring vast amounts of administrative resources and funds. If the projects can be accelerated, the duration and amount of these administrative costs could be reduced, making more funds available for projects rather than spent on administration. 3. If a local government can finalize its RESTORE projects more quickly than 15 years, the settlement process should provide for that. Again, this would reduce administrative costs resulting in more beneficial use of funds. In many cases it is likely that earlier implementation of environmental and economic restoration projects will accelerate and compound benefits over time. Whatever costs that may be incurred due to acceleration of the funding should be measured against the Gulf environmental and economic benefits realized from earlier start dates. The Need for Flexibility in Settlement Distributions Local gov