Gulf of Mexico needs more protection

Antonio Bussalacchi, President of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and Dr. Chris D’Elia, GOMURC Board member and Dean of the LSU College of the Coast and Environment, recently wrote a guest column for the Advocate entitled “After BP Spill, protecting the Gulf region requires even more money.” Given the sunsetting of spill-funded programs like Read More

Funding opportunities calendar for Gulf restoration

The NOAA RESTORE Science Program is hosting a funding opportunities calendar in partnership with other Gulf of Mexico science and restoration initiatives established following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The calendar is intended to enable stakeholders to remain informed about opportunities and assist grant applicants in planning ahead and submitting applications to the appropriate funding Read More

Judge Rejects BP Attempt to Lower Fines for 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

On Thursday, 2/19, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier declared that BP should face paying up to $4,300 in fines for each barrel of oil spilled during the Macando well blowout that spilled oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days in 2010. This is the result of an attempt by BP to lower the Read More

NOAA Releases a Study on Dolphin Impacts from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

The peer reviewed study  has found four distinct groupings of dolphin deaths within the Northern Gulf of Mexico Unusual Mortality Event (UME). Three of the groupings followed the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The scientists compared the number and demographics of dolphin deaths across the Gulf from January 2010–June 2013 to patterns from 1990–2009. They looked for Read More

Public Comment Opportunity – Draft Strategy of Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing

The Interior Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announce draft strategy for offshore oil and gas leasing in 2017-2022. The proposal includes ten sales in the Gulf of Mexico, “one of the most productive basins in the world and where oil and gas infrastructure is well established.” The Draft Proposed Program and the Read More

Texas Centers of Excellence

Texas released “notice on selection process for Centers of Excellence” at https://www.restorethetexascoast.org/. As announced, pursuant to RESTORE Act and Treasury statutory and regulatory requirements, “Texas is posting a Request For Grant Applications (RFGA) on the Texas Electronic State Business Daily and on the Texas e-Grants system.  The RFGA will set forth the process by which grant applications must Read More

NRDA projects

Final NRDA Phase III Early Restoration plan is now available following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Largest phase (>60% of $1B) of early restoration, the Plan proposes 44 early restoration projects, environmental analyses for each of them, and proposed strategic approach to early restoration and the environmental analysis for that approach– http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/early-restoration/phase-iii/?utm_source=final+phase+III+announcement&utm_campaign=early+restoration+phase+III&utm_medium=email Read More