TNC’s Efforts to Support Effective RESTORE Implementation

Darryl Boudreau, Director Florida Local Government Relations

FL DWH DISTRIBUTION RESTORE

(Transocean $800M, BP $4.4B)

Direct Component $56M / $308M

State Component $44M / $242M

Federal Component $240M / $1.32B Center of

Excellence $22M

2.5% NOAA

NFWF (GEBF) $356M

1

2

3

Traditional Opportunity • Grants • Agency Budgets • Public Private

Partnerships (P3) • Emergency Funds

Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) $680M ~$565M remaining

Economic Settlement $2B (75% Panhandle, 25% statewide)

FLORIDA DWH RELATED FUNDING COMPONENTS

• Direct Component (Pot 1) split between the 23 Gulf Coastal Counties

• Federal Component (Pot 2) administered by the RESTORE Council (5 state, 6 federal members) restoration.

• State Component (Pot 3) 23 Counties formed Consortium and are charged with developing state expenditure plan (Governor and Council approves)

• Criminal (NFWF GEBF) FWC charged with submitting state priority funding requests

• Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) negotiations between Florida and Trustee Council

• Economic Claims (75% to Triumph 25% Legislature)

Challenge…

Leverage this opportunity to leave a legacy of improved environmental and

economic resilience of Gulf Coastal Communities

STRATEGY

Harness the energy and focus on the Gulf to create long-term community based watershed groups that continually work together to Identify the most important issues to address to increase the long-term environmental and economic health and stability of Gulf Coastal communities by:

– identifying the priority suite of projects that

address the most important issues

– matching each project to the most appropriate funding source.

– measuring results and adaptively managing to ensure maximum effectiveness

We must create links to make the strongest chainge…

• RESTORE (Civil) • NEBF (Criminal) • NRDA (Environmental) • Triumph (Economic) • Grants, P3, Etc. (Traditional)

WATERSHED PLANNING

Over 1,300 project ideas totaling over

$16 Billion worth of work…

…context is

needed

• Convene stakeholders representing Federal, State and Local agencies, NGOs, Economic groups and citizens to identify each watershed’s:

– Priority issues – Root causes of each issue – Major actions needed to fix the issues – Specific projects that implement the

major actions.

• Compile information into watershed plans

STATUS

• 6 Watersheds formed in Florida

PRIORITY ISSUES

• Improve coastal community resilience

• Protect and manage natural resources

• Improve water quality • Education/Outreach

• Root Causes varied by watershed

Main themes of problems that need

to be addressed

MAJOR ACTIONS

• Protect, restore, create and manage natural

habitat and resources and increase buffer areas

• Increase cooperation and coordination for management, monitoring, funding, implementation, outreach, enforcement

• Reduce impacts to groundwater and ensure adequate fresh water availability

• Reduce and treat stormwater • Reduce nutrient loading • Reduce sedimentation • Increase economic diversification

Watershed Plans Released July 10

Choctawhatchee Bay

• Twenty-three projects totaling 29 different actions were submitted (this is only a start…not a comprehensive list)

• Projects ranged from single focus projects such as stabilizing dirt roads, to multiple projects designed to restore a sub-basin within the watershed.

– Protect, restore, create and/or manage natural habitat and resources and increase buffer areas – 10

– Increase cooperation and coordination for management, monitoring, funding, implementation, outreach, enforcement – 10

– Reduce and treat stormwater – 4 – Reduce nutrient loading – 2 – Reduce sedimentation – 3

INITIAL PROJECTS

Choctawhatchee Bay

• Create Estuary Programs using the proven NEP model (e.g., Tampa Bay NEP)

– State submitted Pot 2 proposal to fund the Northwest Florida Estuaries Program Proposal

– EPA submitted Pot 2 proposal to create Estuary Programs (creation of programs and development and adoption of Estuary Plans) – will need long term funding support.

• Building Blocks: – Watershed Planning – jumpstarts the

organizational and priority setting – GEBF Plan (Updates SWIM Plans, seagrass

restoration plan and plan for GEBF implementation) – provides core Science and Ecological Restoration Plan

NEXT STEPS

Goal: (Borrowing from Aristotle, Ensure the whole of Deepwater Horizon investments is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

• Regionalize Estuary Plans to ensure biggest bang for the buck and regional cooperation (based on SWFL Regional Restoration Plan) – “Team North Florida”

• Increase communication and coordination between economic and environmental sectors to ensure investments are complimentary and achieve the greatest and longest lasting improvement for our communities.

• Investigate P3 and Bonding alternatives as a way to begin project implementation now.

NEXT STEPS

THANK YOU

Working together we can leave the kind of legacy for

which our grandchildren and all future generations will be grateful and value.

Questions?