The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is a long-term legal process in which the trustees from each state, alongside other organizations with similar restoration goals, work together to assess losses caused by the spill, evaluate injuries associated with cleanup efforts and implement restoration projects. Results will not be seen immediately and projects will be implemented over months, years and even decades.

What Florida Is Doing Now

A SCAT team at Perdido Key walks the beach removing oil product.

$1 Billion Agreement to Fund Early Gulf Coast Restoration Projects

On April 21, 2011 an agreement was announced by the Natural Resource Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Trustees), BP has agreed to provide $1 billion toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address injuries to natural resources caused by the spill. The selection of early restoration projects for all Gulf States will follow a public process, and will be overseen by the Deepwater Horizon Trustee Council. Trustees will determine projects that qualify under the Oil Pollution Act. Trustees will use the money to fund projects such as, but not limited to, the rebuilding of coastal marshes, replenishment of damaged beaches, conservation of sensitive areas for ocean habitat for injured wildlife and restoration of barrier islands and wetlands that provide natural protection from storms.

View the Framework for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

For more information visit Projects.

Other Ongoing Activities

DEP is in the process of accumulating all oil spill related data that has been collected in Florida.

DEP, in coordination with the Florida Department of Health, is conducting regular water quality sampling along Northwest Florida beaches. Visit Sampling & Monitoring for more information.

Florida’s trustees and representatives continue to meet as part of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trustee Council and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Task Force. Visit Meetings & Events for more information.

On the Federal Level

Sandshark cleans sand at Pensacola Beach

One of the next steps is the establishment of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), which is a federal process with state input, and is implemented under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Federal agencies are required to integrate environmental values into their decision-making processes by considering the environmental impacts of proposed actions and evaluating alternatives.

The purpose of a PEIS is:

1. To disclose the foreseeable environmental consequences of the proposed action and alternatives to that action.
2. To permit the public to participate in the evaluation and selection among the alternative courses of action.

Public meetings will be held throughout the affected Gulf States to allow for sufficient public input in development of a PEIS. The PEIS will be used as a guide for federal and state agencies when making future decisions regarding restoration projects and project-specific actions.

More information about federal response and restoration efforts can be found on RestoreTheGulf.gov.