Appendix D Other Funding Programs
| Organization | Funding Source | Amount |
| Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, managed by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) | BP | $20 billion, $5 billion per year paid by BP |
| GoMRI (Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative) | BP | $500 million to be disbursed over 10 years |
| GRHOP (Gulf Region Health Outreach Program) | BP as part of the Deepwater Horizon Medical Benefits Class Action Settlement | $105 million to be paid over 5 years |
| NAS (National Academy of Sciences) Gulf Research Program | BP ($350 million) and Transocean ($150 million) | $500 million received from 2013 to 2018, and disbursed over 30 years |
| NAWCF (North American Wetlands Conservation Fund) managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (NAWCC), and the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) | BP fine for violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act | $100 million received from 2014 to 2019, and disbursed: $20 million within 60 days of sentencing (on January 29, 2013), $20 million within 1 year, $20 million within 2 years, $12 million within 3 years, $12 million within 4 years, and $16 million within 5 years |
| NFWF (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) | BP ($2.394 billion) and Transocean ($150 million) from criminal settlements | $2.544 billion received from 2013 to 2018 and disbursed over 5 years |
| NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Studies) DWH Research Consortium | NIH | $25.2 million over 5 years to the following universities and their community partners: University of Florida; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans; Tulane University; and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston |
| NRDA (National Resource Damage Assessment) | BP | $1 billion voluntarily being paid (currently in progress) by BP to fund certain restoration projects before the NRDA was complete; currently being disbursed |
| OSLTF (Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund) managed by the U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center | MOEX ($45 million from civil penalties); Transocean ($100 million from criminal penalties, $200 million from civil penalties); BP ($1.15 billion from criminal penalties) | $1.495 billion received on various schedules from 2012 to 2018 |
| RTF (Restoration Trust Fund) created by the RESTORE Act and managed by the Department of the Treasury | Transocean ($800 million) and BP (amount TBD) for civil Clean Water Act liabilities | $800 million with additional funds expected (as court cases are resolved). Initial funds received from 2013 to 2015. Disbursement schedule varies by process |
| Purpose | Specific Allocations | |
| Compensate for natural resource damages, state and local response costs, and individual financial damage | ||
| Fund research projects and consortia to understand, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of the marine and coastal ecosystems, with an emphasis on the Gulf of Mexico | ||
| Inform residents of the Gulf region about their own health and facilitate access, now and in the future, to skilled frontline health care providers supported by networks of specialists knowledgeable in addressing physical, behavioral, and mental health needs | $50 million to the Primary Care Capacity Project; $36 million to the Mental and Behavioral Health Capacity Project; $4 million to the Community Health Workers Training Project; and $15 million to the Environmental Health Capacity and Literacy Project | |
| Establish a new research program focused on human health and environmental protection in the Gulf of Mexico and on the U.S. outer continental shelf, including issues relating to offshore oil drilling and hydrocarbon production and transportation | For work in three program areas: oil system safety, human health, and environmental resources using three approaches: research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring. Allocation among program areas and approaches were not specified | |
| Fund wetlands restoration and conservation projects located in states bordering the Gulf of Mexico or otherwise designated to benefit migratory bird species and other wildlife and habitat affected by the oil spill | ||
| Remedy harm and eliminate or reduce the risk of future harm to Gulf Coast natural resources that were adversely affected by the DWH explosion and oil spill | $1.272 billion for barrier island and river diversion projects in LA; $356 million for natural resource projects in each of AL, FL, and MS; $203 million for projects in TX | |
| Create community—university partnerships to examine the longterm impact from the oil spill on the health of Gulf Coast residents and communities. This NIEHS research initiative and other related programs help communities and institutions in the Gulf and around the country understand how to be prepared for disasters and limit negative health effects related to disasters | ||
| Restore natural resources impacted by the spill to the condition they would have been in had the spill not occurred | NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) will each receive $100 million for projects to restore federal trust resources. The trustees for each Gulf State will receive $100 million; $300 million will be used for restoration projects that the state trustees suggest, and that NOAA and DOI select | |
| Fund federal agencies to administer the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), respond to future oil spills, and support research and development | $50 million for the Emergency Fund, used for spill response and to initiate natural resource damage assessments. The rest is for the Principal Fund used to compensate those harmed by an oil spill when responsible parties cannot pay and, when appropriated by Congress to cover the costs of administering provisions of the OPA | |
| Varies with the process, but generally for restoration and protection of the natural resources, ecosystems, and economies of the Gulf Coast | 35% of the fund goes directly to the five Gulf States in equal shares; 30% goes to a regional Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council; 30% goes to the five Gulf States based on a formula that considers their respective disturbance from the DWH oil spill; 2.5% will support a NOAA-led Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology program; 2.5% will sustain a competitive grant program to establish Centers of Excellence to conduct Gulf Coast research | |
SOURCES: Environmental Law Institute and Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy (2014); The BP Claims Fund website (accessed May 2014); Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative website (accessed May 2014); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences website (accessed May 2014); and Louisiana Public Health Institute Primary Care Capacity Project, Gulf Region Health Outreach Program website (accessed May 2014).
CREDITS
Cover: A view of the Gulf of Mexico from space. Source: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/GSFC, ORBIMAGE.
The Gulf of Mexico extends toward the horizon. Source: ©iStock.
A satellite image of the Mississippi River delta. Source: Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan.
People enjoy the beach on South Padre Island, Texas. Source: ©iStock.
A hiker explores Louisiana’s Manchac Swamp. Source: ©iStock.
Seagulls are drawn to a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: ©iStock.
A hawksbill sea turtle swims past a diver in Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: ©iStock.
Water snakes through the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Mississippi. Source: NOAA.
A team in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, evaluates oiled marshes. Source: NOAA.
A pelican eyes the camera. Source: ©iStock.
Brain coral off of the Florida coast. Source: NOAA.
Experts aboard NOAA’s research ship Okeanos Explorer perform maintenance on remotely operated vehicles during a research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Gulf of Mexico 2014 Expedition.
A pair of biological technicians assess sediment gathered from the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Image courtesy of Lophelia II 2012 Expedition, NOAA-OER/BOEM.
Offshore oil platforms and a supply ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: ©iStock.
A lone oystercatcher spreads its wings in shallow water off the Florida coast. Source: ©iStock.
Limitless Vistas students Calvin Pitcher and Rolnesha Meyers learn to test for dissolved oxygen on water collected from Twin Canals at the S.E. Louisiana Jean Lafitte National Historical Park in the Barataria Preserve, Louisiana. Source: Limitless Vistas.
Boom extends into the Gulf of Mexico from Dauphin Island. Source: ©iStock.
Permits swim past an underwater camera in Florida’s Dry Tortugas. Source: NOAA.
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In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire in the Gulf of Mexico caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, resulting in significant impacts on the region’s environment and residents. Legal settlements with the companies held responsible led the federal government to ask the National Academy of Sciences to form and administer a 30—year program to enhance oil system safety, human health, and environmental resources in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. continental shelf areas where offshore oil and gas exploration and production occur or are under consideration. The new Gulf Research Program will receive $500 million to support activities using three broad approaches: research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring.
The Gulf Research Program: A Strategic Vision establishes the Program’s foundation and introduces its mission, goals, and objectives. It describes some initial activities and sets out the Program’s vision for contributing lasting benefit to the Gulf region and the Nation. The Program is an extraordinary opportunity to foster science on a regional scale and over the long term.
The document will be of interest to scientists, health professionals, engineers, and educators who wish to learn about, collaborate with, and submit proposals to the Program, and to all those who share the goal of enhancing resilience in areas where offshore energy production, vibrant communities, and dynamic ecosystems coexist.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES™
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The nation turns to the National Academies—National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, Institue of Medicine, and National Research Council—for independent, obective advice on issues that affect people’ lives worldwide.
