PANAMA CITY — A citizens advisory committee has whittled in half a list of environmental and economic development projects that will move ahead in the application process and potentially receive funding from damages from the 2010 oil spill.
The Bay County RESTORE Act Advisory Committee on Tuesday chose 22 projects to move forward to the full application phase. The organizations are trying to secure some of the $6.3 million pot of money from the RESTORE Act, legislation that dedicates a portion of the civil penalties from the 2010 BP oil spill to the five affected states.
The committee in February will determine what projects will be recommended to the Bay County Commission, which in the spring will have a final say about what projects are funded.
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Overall, 47 projects were submitted in the committee’s pre-proposal process, with funding requests totaling $45.8 million. Three were removed by the applicants before Tuesday’s vote, meaning the committee cut 22 projects and will move the remaining 22 projects forward for consideration.
The 22 projects would require about $11.8 million RESTORE funds.
The federal government and Transocean, which owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, have agreed to a settlement that will provide $6.3 million to Bay County, but the main source of funds is anticipated to come from the federal lawsuit against BP. The total amount coming to the county could add up to $120 million for Bay County .
The first $6.3 million could come to the county as early as next year.