Alabama is receiving over $35 million in funds for conservation and improvement of its coastline, the Department of the Interior announced on Tuesday.
The funds coming to Alabama are the result of the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), a law that established a revenue sharing program where Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas receive a share of the money generated by oil and gas leases on federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
“[T]oday’s GOMESA disbursement announcement by the Department of Interior underscores just how important GOMESA funds are to the State of Alabama and especially to Coastal Alabama,” said U.S. Rep Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) in a statement. Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District, which includes the entirety of Alabama’s coastline.
Alabama projects funded by GOMESA in recent years include improvements and renovations of Gulf State Park and Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
The State of Alabama will receive $28,043,424 to be handled by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR).
“The GOMESA funding is very important to Coastal Alabama,” Chris Blankenship, commissioner of the ADCNR, told Yellowhammer News on Tuesday. “These funds have been used in past years to provide recreational access to our waterways, improve water quality through sewer system improvements, and have protected sensitive habitats through land acquisitions.”
“ADCNR will work with Governor Ivey to fund similar projects with this distribution that meet the authorized uses designated by statute,” Blankenship added.
Mobile County will receive an additional $3,815,979 while Baldwin County is getting $3,194,877 as part of the program. The money disbursed on Tuesday was revenue generated during fiscal year 2020 and is being received by states during fiscal year 2021.
The total amount of funding split between the four GOMESA states that was announced Tuesday is nearly $249 million. The revenue that funds the program comes from oil and gas companies paying to lease an area of the Gulf of Mexico from the federal government for drilling purposes.
Tuesday’s total of over $35 million received by Alabama is the second most the state has ever received under GOMESA, following fiscal year 2020 when the state’s disbursement exceeded $50 million.
Alabama’s disbursement next year will likely be disrupted from what it has enjoyed the previous two years. Shortly after being sworn in, President Joe Biden signed an executive order halting all new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters while the Secretary of the Interior conducts a review of the permitting process.
Carl emphasized that the GOMESA funds announced Tuesday are especially important “[i]n light of President Biden’s decision to cancel new oil and gas leases.”
GOMESA monies can be spent on “support coastal conservation and restoration projects, hurricane protection programs, and activities to implement marine and coastal resilience management plans,” according to a release from the Department of the Interior. Blankenship noted on Tuesday that Alabama has in the past used the funds “to support marine scientific collection and analysis in our coastal waters.”
“[W]e cannot allow [Biden’s] far-left Green New Deal agenda to obliterate this critical source of funding for important recreation and conservation projects throughout our region,” remarked Carl.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
