Texas and the RESTORE Act: A progress report
As we approach the sixth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is coming up on April 20, states along the Gulf Coast continue to deal with the spill’s aftermath. In October 2015, BP and the U.S. Justice Department reached a final settlement on claims arising from the spill. Under reported terms of the agreement, BP agreed to pay fines of $20.8 billion. And under the terms laid out by Congress in 2012’s Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), that money will be divided among the Gulf Coast states according to a set formula. The law directs state and local governments to use the funds for projects that benefit the economies and environments of the affected coastal regions.