BP: $1B To Start Restoring Gulf

The Hill reports:

BP will distribute an initial $1 billion for key projects while state and local officials complete a broad review of other needs.

BP has reached an agreement with key state and federal officials to set aside $1 billion to begin restoring parts of the Gulf that were damaged by last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Under the agreement, BP will distribute an initial $1 billion for key restoration projects while state and local officials complete a broad review aimed at determining how much the company must pay to make up for the spill's effect on natural resources in the Gulf.

Gulf coast officials have called on BP to commit money to restoration as soon as possible, noting that a full natural resources damage assessment could take years.

Under the agreement with BP, state and federal officials will use early data they have collected to “identify injuries that are evident now and propose plans to restore those resources at the earliest opportunity, focusing on projects that can start in 2011 and 2012,” BP said.

The “trustees” responsible for conducting the natural resources damage assessment include the Interior Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several states.