Below is a press release from the Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee:
The PEER Committee released its report titled A Review of the Administration of Selected Coastal Resiliency and Restoration Funds in Mississippi.
Some of the Committee’s major findings and recommendations include:
- Mississippi utilizes a three-agency structure (Mississippi Department of Marine Resources [MDMR], Mississippi Development Authority [MDA], and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality [MDEQ]) to identify and implement coastal resiliency and restoration projects funded by Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) and Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement funds.
- Mississippi was awarded approximately $2.2 billion in compensation under the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement agreements.
- There are various funds and methods for awarding funds for coastal resiliency and restoration projects. For example:
MDMR administers state GOMESA funding. The Governor and Legislature ultimately determine which projects to fund with the state’s share of GOMESA funds. Further, each coastal county directly administers its own share of GOMESA funding.
For RESTORE Buckets 1 and 3, projects ideas submitted through the MDEQ project portal are forwarded to the Governor’s Gulf Coast Advisory Committee for review. The Committee recommends projects to the Governor, who then selects projects for funding.
For Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund projects, MDEQ is invited to submit project proposals that are considered for approval by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Board of Directors; NFWF has sole authority to make final project decisions.
For Gulf Coast Restoration Fund projects, MDA scores project proposals, and an advisory board votes on projects for funding. However, the Legislature is ultimately responsible for selecting projects for funding through the appropriation process.
- Louisiana, Texas, and Florida have made efforts to develop a state coastal restoration and resiliency plan across the various funding streams.
The Legislature should either:
- consider establishing a formal coastal resiliency and restoration coordinating committee to establish a state coastal resiliency and restoration master plan and monitor the impact and effectiveness of the state’s coastal resiliency and restoration efforts; or,
- require MDMR, MDEQ, and MDA to coordinate to develop a state coastal resiliency and restoration master plan and submit the plan to the Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor, and the PEER Committee by December 15, 2024.
Should you have questions about the report, please contact James F. (Ted) Booth, PEER Executive Director, at 601-359-1226.
You can read the entire report HERE.
