Since the federal government can consume money faster than a magician can make greenbacks disappear, the phrase “there ought to be a law” applies in the case of fines over last year’s massive Gulf oil spill. Most of that money should go into restoration of the coast deeply impacted by this environmental catastrophe, not into federal coffers.
While this seems only fair and appropriate, the federal government must be compelled to act responsibly. Congress must pass a law to force the issue.
To that end, Florida’s two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio, have united among a bipartisan group of nine Gulf state senators cosponsoring legislation that would accomplish that goal. In an era of super-heated partisanship, this is a remarkable show of political unity.
The “RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act” would require 80 percent of the federal penalties paid by oil industry giant BP and other companies found responsible for the oil disaster go toward restoration of the Gulf region.
Even more than a year after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, the Macondo well burst open and more than 200 million gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf, almost 500 miles of coastline from Louisiana to Florida remains contaminated, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration reports.
Introduced in the Senate in late June, the RESTORE Act would steer penalty money into coastal restoration and flood prevention; conservation land purchases; mitigation for fish and wildlife damage; promotion of tourism and seafood; workforce development and job creation; and other projects. The legislation also establishes the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund to direct many of these programs for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The cost of the catastrophe is already astronomical -- at $41 billion and counting. About half of that has been dedicated toward paying economic damage claims by businesses spread throughout the Gulf region.
Even in Manatee County, far from the well leak 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, more than 1,180 claims have been paid as of Friday -- totaling $16.6 million, according to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility website. The federal government’s claims website reports similar numbers for Sarasota County.
While the Panhandle coast suffered the worst of the tar balls and oil in Florida, Manatee and Sarasota businesses dependent on tourism and fishing absorbed losses from canceled reservations even with clean beaches. The spill’s economic impact reached quite a bit further than the environmental damage, a point that should not be forgotten.
But Manatee County is enjoying somewhat of a boom in tourism with the number of visitors increasing by 8 percent in July 2011 from the same month a year ago. Tourism’s economic impact rose to $50 million, up 13 percent from last July’s $43.8 million.
That is most welcome news, especially given our still lagging job picture and overall economy.
The Gulf of Mexico’s value to the nation is considerable, with the tourism and commercial and recreational fishing industries valued in excess of $55 billion combined. Gulf waters yield some 40 percent of all the seafood caught in the continental United States, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The RESTORE Act will provide the resources to improve and protect this rich environment. Restoration will also create thousands of jobs and help protect the region from hurricanes and flood damage. Congress should pass this reasonable response to the nation’s worst oil spill.
