RESTORE Act

This week the RESTORE Council will meet in Galveston to hear input from the public about their updated Comprehensive Plan, which will guide the Council in spending more than $1 billion for ecosystem restoration projects. It is more than six years after the BP oil spill, but the majority of fines and penalties paid by BP won’t begin flowing to the Gulf until this winter. The opportunity this money presents cannot be overstated.

The Gulf Coast boasts incredible natural resources and also plays a critical role in preserving the economic and national security of the nation. Trillions of dollars in infrastructure along the coast, from roads to railways to energy infrastructure, can be protected by enhancing and restoring our natural protective buffers like wetlands and living shorelines.

As restoration ramps up, we also have the opportunity to build a new restoration economy, creating jobs and business opportunities at a large-scale. This work will create demand for both skilled and unskilled labor in fields as diverse as construction, engineering, science and education. Although ecosystem restoration in the Gulf isn’t a new endeavor— Volkert has been engaged in projects for over a decade, for example — this funding represents an unprecedented investment in our natural resources that will jumpstart this new economy and ensure that businesses can meet the demand for constructing large-scale, transformative restoration projects.

Thanks to the work of the RESTORE Council and countless others, ecosystem restoration is a new frontier for businesses and public-private partnerships in the Gulf region. Bethany Carl Kraft, senior project manager, Gulf Region, Volkert, Inc..

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Isaiah 5:21