The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his approval of approximately $26 million for Gulf Coast restoration activities in Mississippi.
“I applaud the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on the development of a thoughtful and effective State Expenditure Plan Amendment,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Our collective efforts under the RESTORE Act will help ensure the long-term health and resilience of the Gulf Coast ecosystem.”
“We are grateful to Administrator Scott Pruitt, as Chair of the RESTORE Council, for approving Mississippi’s State Expenditure Plan in a timely fashion so we can begin to implement crucial projects including the Remote Oyster Setting Facility project and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Quality Improvement Program,” said Gary Rikard, the Designated Alternate for the Governor of Mississippi to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. “These projects are a boost to our efforts to improve water quality on the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi Sound and to improve the production of natural oyster reefs and help restore oyster fishery production. Our restoration efforts are integrated for the overall improvement of our natural resources just as the natural resources are dependent on one another. These projects are key components of our efforts and will complement one another along with many of our other projects.”
The 2017 Mississippi State Expenditure Plan Amendment was submitted to the Spill Impact Component of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The funding will support water quality improvement, oyster restoration, habitat conservation and other activities.
