With the passage of the federal RESTORE Act committing fines from the BP oil spill to ecologic and economic enhancements throughout the Gulf of Mexico, TBEP is moving forward to assist its partners in developing implementation strategies for environmental restoration within the Tampa Bay watershed.

TBEP's Policy Board recently approved hiring Scheda Ecological, a Tampa-based environmental consulting firm, to provide design and permitting assistance to local governments for projects that may be eligible for RESTORE Act funding, as well as other wetland projects over the next two years.

This is a natural role for a regional partnership like TBEP, which has become more involved in recent years with identifying and assisting partners with projects to restore coastal and freshwater wetland habitats and improve water quality.

TBEP's Holly Greening with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson at a local event to celebrate passage of the RESTORE Act.

TBEP's Policy Board has requested a joint meeting later this Fall with the boards of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program to discuss coordinating funding requests and pooling resources to better meet restoration goals and targets for all of Southwest Florida.

"Assisting our regional partners with developing coordinated implementation strategies to improve Tampa Bay's environment is a critical role that the Tampa Bay Estuary Program is well-suited to fill," said Holly Greening, TBEP's Executive Director. "By building on the success of the Tampa Bay Comprehensive Plan and coordinating with Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, our region has a head start over much of the rest of the Gulf."   

TBEP's Habitat Master Plan Update already identifies key types of habitats, such as low-salinity marshes, and specific locations in need of restoration. This blueprint, created with input from scientists and bay managers throughout the region, can be used to guide funding requests, along with habitat restoration priority projects identified by other organizations. Water quality improvement projects, such as those identified by the public-private Nitrogen Management Consortium, will also be eligible.

The RESTORE Act was passed by Congress in late June. The legislation directs 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the BP oil spill to economic and ecosystem restoration in the five Gulf States. The total amount of money available is expected to be between $4 and $25 billion.

Here's how the money may be allocated, assuming a planning-level disbursement of $1 billion per year over a 15-year period:  

• 30 percent of the funds, or $300 million per year, will be allocated to the newly formed Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, specifically for environmental improvement and restoration consistent with the Council's comprehensive plan.

• 35 percent of the funds, or $70 million per state per year, will go directly to Gulf Coast counties for environmental and economic restoration. TBEP staff estimates that between $500,000 and $2 million per year may be available for Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties.

• 30% of the funds, or a minimum of $15 million per year per state, will be distributed to the five Gulf States based on oil spill impacts and spent according to each individual state's plan, which will be consistent with the comprehensive federal plan. This allocation will be determined in Florida by a consortium of the 23 Gulf Coast Counties, and the money can be used for both economic and environmental restoration.

The remaining five percent will be dedicated to research and monitoring of Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration and fisheries, and to support regional Centers of Excellence like the Florida Institute of Oceanography.