Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-27-11 regular part 2 of 2 — reading text

systems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Re- 4 vived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 ". 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that- 7( 1) as a result of decades of oil and gas devel- 8 opment in the Gulf of Mexico, producing and non- 9 producing States in the Gulf Coast region have 10 borne substantial risks of environmental damage and 11 economic harm, all of which culminated with the ex- 12 plosion on, and sinking of, the mobile offshore drill - 13 ing unit Deepwater Horizon; 14 ( 2) the discharge of oil in the Gulf of Mexico 15 that began following the explosion on, and sinking 16 of, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Hori- 17 zon has caused substantial environmental destruc- 18 tion and economic harm to the people and commu- 19 nities of the Gulf Coast region; 20 ( 3)( A) in the report entitled " America' s Gulf 21 Coast —A Long Term Recovery Plan after the Deep - 22 water Horizon Oil Spill ", the Secretary of the Navy 23 stated, " Together, the Gulf's tourism and commer- 24 cial and recreational fishing industries contribute 25 tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. More m v 26 than 90 percent of the nation' s offshore crude oil m m 9 14M 13 aDN Attachment: 9 -27 -11 SB1400 rev ( 1444 : 2011 -30 - Support for SB 1400)  0041 es joL yoddnS - oe- L LOZ c 469 L) naj 004 LSS L L- ZZ- 6 : mawyoejjV nro ao b 3 aN 1 and natural gas is produced in the Gulf, and the 2 federal treasury receives roughly $ 4. 5 billion dollars 3 every year from offshore leases and royalties. And it 4 is in the Gulf of Mexico that nearly one third of sea- 5 food production in the continental U. S. is harvested. 6 America needs a healthy and resilient Gulf Coast, 7 one that can support the diverse economies, commu- 8 nities, and cultures of the region. "; 9 B) to address the needs of the Gulf Coast re- 10 gion, the Secretary of the Navy stated, " It is rec- 11 ommended that the President urge Congress to pass 12 legislation that would dedicate a significant amount 13 of any civil penalties recovered under the Clean 14 Water Act from parties responsible for the Deep - 15 water Horizon oil spill to those directly impacted by 16 that spill."; and 17 C) to mitigate local challenges and help restore 18 the resiliency of communities adversely affected by 19 the spill, the Secretary of the Navy stated that the 20 legislation described in subparagraph ( B) should 21 bluild economic development strategies around 22 community needs, and take particular efforts to ad- 23 dress the needs of disadvantaged, underserved, and 24 resource constrained communities"; s 1400 Is  4 1 4) in a final report to the President, the Na- 2 tional Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon 3 Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling — 4 A) stated, " Estimates of the cost of Gulf 5 restoration, including but not limited to the 6 Mississippi Delta, vary widely, but according to 7 testimony before the Commission, full restora- 8 tion of the Gulf will require $ 15 billion to $ 20 9 billion: a minimum of $500 million annually for 10 30 years. "; and 11 B) like the Secretary of the Navy, rec- 12 ommended that, to meet the needs described in 13 subparagraph ( A), a substantial portion of ap- 14 plicable penalties under the Federal Water Pol- 15 lution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) be 16 dedicated to long -term restoration of the Gulf 17 of Mexico; 18 5) taking into account the risks borne by Gulf 19 Coast States for decades of oil and gas development 20 and the environmental degradation suffered by the 21 Gulf Coast ecosystem, the amounts received by the 22 United States as payment of administrative, civil, or 23 criminal penalties in connection with the explosion 24 on, and sinking of, the mobile offshore drilling unit 25 Deepwater Horizon should be expended— NvdnF m 8 1400 IS A Attachment: 8 -27 -11 SB1400 rev ( 1444 : 2011 - 30 - Support for SB 1400)  OOVL EIS jo; UoddnS - 0£- L LOZ : 49YL) naJ 004 LEIS LVLZ- 6 : auaw439PV N 0 5 aOt Yu an 1 A) to restore the natural resources, eco- 2 systems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, 3 beaches, barrier islands, dunes, coastal wet- 4 lands, and economy of the Gulf Coast; and 5 B) to address the associated economic 6 harm suffered by the people and communities 7 of the region; 8 6) the projects and programs authorized by 9 this Act and the amendments made by this Act 10 should be carried out pursuant to contracts awarded 11 in a manner that provides a preference to individuals 12 and entities that reside in, are headquartered in, or 13 are principally engaged in business in a Gulf Coast 14 State; and 15 7) Federal, State, and local officials should 16 seek— 17 A) to leverage the financial resources 18 made available under this Act; and 19 B) to the maximum extent practicable, to 20 ensure that projects funded pursuant to this 21 Act complement efforts planned or in operation 22 to revitalize the natural resources and economic 23 health of the Gulf Coast region. S 1" 0 IS  6 1 SEC. 3. GULF COAST RESTORATION TRUST FUND. 2( a) D4STABLISHMENT. —There is established in the 3 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 4 as the " Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund" ( referred to 5 in this section as the " Trust Fund "), consisting of such 6 amounts as are deposited in the Trust Fund under this 7 Act or any other provision of law. 8( b) TRANSFERS. — The Secretary of the Treasury 9 shall deposit in the Trust Fund an amount equal to 80 10 percent of all administrative and civil penalties paid by 11 responsible parties after the date of enactment of this Act 12 in connection with the explosion on, and sinking of, the 13 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon pursuant 14 to a court order, negotiated settlement, or other instru- 15 ment in accordance with section 311 of the Federal Water 16 Pollution Control Act (33 U. S. C. 1321). 17 ( e) 1$XPENDITURES.— Amounts in the Trust Fund, 18 including interest earned on advances to the Trust Fund 19 and proceeds from investment under subsection ( d), 20 shall- 21 ( 1) be available for expenditure, without further 22 appropriation, solely for the purpose and eligible ac- 23 tivities of this Act; and 24 ( 2) remain available until expended, without fis- 25 cal year limitation. Nvbnx tl]9 r S 1900 19 m Attachment: 9. 27 -11 SB1400 rev ( 1444 : 2011 -30 - Support for SB 1400)  oobt as 1oi v odd nS - Oe- 1 LOZ o 44bl) n21 00419S tL- LZ- 6 qu0wyoeAtl n d 7 ud ary 1( d) INVESTMENT.— Amounts in the Trust Fund shall 2 be invested in accordance with section 9702 of title 31, 3 United States Code, and any interest on, and proceeds 4 from, any such investment shall be available for expendi- 5 ture in accordance with this Act and the amendments 6 made by this Act. 7( e) ADMINISTRATION. —Not later than 180 days after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, after providing notice 9 and an opportunity for public comment, the Secretary of 10 the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of the In- 11 terior and the Secretary of Commerce, shall establish such 12 procedures as the Secretary determines to be necessary 13 to deposit amounts in, and expend amounts from, the 14 Trust Fund pursuant to this Act, including- 15 ( 1) procedures to assess whether the programs 16 and activities carried out under this Act and the 17 amendments made by this Act achieve compliance 18 with applicable requirements, including procedures 19 by which the Secretary of the Treasury may deter - 20 mine whether an expenditure by a Gulf Coast State 21 or coastal political subdivision ( as those terms are 22 defined in section 311 of the Federal Water Pollu- 23 tion Control Act ( 33 U. S. C. 1321)) pursuant to such 24 a program or activity achieves compliance; 8 1400 IS  8 1( 2) auditing requirements to ensure that 2 amounts in the Trust Fund are expended as in- 3 tended; and 4( 3) procedures for identification and allocation 5 of funds available to the Secretary under other pro - 6 visions of law that may be necessary to pay the ad- z ministrative expenses directly attributable to the 8