Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Before the coronavirus epidemic, there was Deepwater Horizon, the massive marine oil spill in 2010 that wreaked economic and environmental havoc on Florida and four other states with coastlines along the Gulf of Mexico.
The industrial disaster, in brief, resulted in a historic settlement where BP, which was held primarily responsible for the spill because of gross negligence and reckless conduct, agreed to pay multi-billions in fines, much of which money was to go for restoration projects in the adversely affected communities along the Gulf.
Ten years after the disaster, Jefferson County is still going through the lengthy process to claim its designated share of the BP money for restoration projects.
At the Jefferson County Commission's most recent meeting on Thursday evening, April 2, the board reaffirmed its commitment to abide by theterms of a $1,236,271 Restore Act state grant awarded to the county by the Gulf Consortium, the public entity created in 2012 by 23 of Florida Gulf Coast counties to oversee the distribution of the BP money. The grant money is supposed to be used for the purchase of additional land along the Wacissa River and to make improvements to the existing park.
As explained by County Commissioner Betsy Barfield, Jefferson County's representative on the Gulf Consortium, the paperwork that the board was being asked to review didn't represent anything new. The reason that the grant award was back on the agenda, she said, was so the commission could recheck the document to ensure that everything was copacetic and the project met the established guidelines.
“This is a continuation of the Pot 3 funding for the purchase of the 40 acres of river owned by the Boland Family,” Barfield said. “This is not the final step. It's just another of the many steps that have to be taken.”
Pot 3, which represents nearly $13 million, is one of the several “pots” of BP money that Jefferson County is slated to receive. So far, the county has received $3.4 million in Pot 1.
It must be noted that the funding, which comes to the county through the Gulf Consortium, as pre-approved by the overseeing Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Restore Council), comes with a myriad of strings attached.
The contract that recently went before the commissioners for review was a 26-page document that spelled out the terms and conditions of the grant award and the county's many responsibilities and obligations, along with giving a detailed description of the property to be purchased.
Per the award contract, the county is to use the funding to expand and improve public access to Wacissa River Park. First, however, the county must complete a feasibility study to determine if the purchase of the property and the contemplated land improvements next to the park are warranted.
Completion of the project is intended not only to increase access and recreational opportunities on the river, but also improve public safety while decreasing the impacts to the natural resources from overuse, according to the contract.
The Restore Council underscores that its federal interest in the two properties is to ensure they are used and maintained solely for conservation purposes in perpetuity. Moreover, should the county at any time fail to abide by the terms and conditions of the award, it could be made to repay “the full cash value of the federal interest in the property within a reasonable time,” among other possible penalties.
Per the agreement, the Gulf Consortium is held responsible for assuring that any improvements that the county makes to the property are consistent with, and advance, the conservation purposes of the grant funding.
As defined by the contract, the purpose of the project is two-tiered, involving both a feasibility study and the expected acquisition of the 40-acre property, which is described as being just east of the Wacissa Spring Park, off Wacissa Springs Road, and bounded by the Wacissa River and Little Spring.
The contract recognizes the possibility that the property the county is seeking to acquire for the expansion may not work out, should the feasibility study identify complications that make the purchase unreasonable or uneconomical. At which point the county would have to seek other suitable land, per the contract.
The expected completion of the project is listed as March 2021.