State Expenditure Plan

Mississippi’s initial State Expenditure Plan (SEP) and six subsequent amendments, totaling $181 million, has been approved by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council).  The Mississippi State Expenditure Plan describes projects and programs which Mississippi will fund under the Oil Spill Impact Component of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).

The RESTORE Act provides that 80 percent of the civil penalties recovered as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill be directed to the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to be used by the five Gulf Coast states to restore and protect the environment and economy in the Gulf Coast region. Monies in the Trust Fund are distributed to five different components, one of which is the Oil Spill Impact Component, also referred to as Bucket 3.  This component requires Mississippi, through MDEQ, to prepare a State Expenditure Plan describing each activity, project or program for which Mississippi seeks funding under Bucket 3 and accounts for 30 percent of the funds directed to the Trust Fund. Mississippi, as determined by the Oil Spill Impact Formula described in the RESTORE Act, will receive 19.07 percent of the 30 percent allocation in Bucket 3.

The projects and programs identified for funding in Mississippi’s State Expenditure Plan, which was amended in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 include: the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Quality Improvement Program ($56 million), Pascagoula Oyster Reef Complex Relay and Enhancement ($4.1 million), Compatibility, Coordination, and Restoration Planning ($2.8 million), Gulf of Mexico Citizen Led Initiative ($1.9 million), Remote Oyster Setting Facility ($9.36 million), Coastal Headwater Land Conservation Program ($8 million), Round Island Living Shoreline Demonstration and Protection Project ($2.2 million), Hancock County Marsh Living Shoreline Extension ($6 million), Beneficial Use of Dredge Material for Marsh Creation and Restoration in Mississippi ($19 million), Mississippi Oyster Shell Recycling Program ($650,000), Mississippi Beachfront Resilience ($9.95 million), Public/Private Training Partnership (Accelerate MS) ($2.2 million), Coastal Habitat Management Program ($3.3 million), Gulf Center of Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) Fusion ($5.5 million), Improvement of Wastewater Quality and Solid Waste Disposal from Shrimp Processing Industry ($5.5 million), and D’Iberville Working Waterfront and Commercial Seafood Harbor ($8.8 million), Harbor Expansion Parking Area (Jones Park) ($1.65 million), Walter Anderson Museum of Art Creative Complex ($1.21 million), Workforce Training – Meeting the Needs of the Supply Chain ($5.5 million), Health Professions (HEALP) for Our Community: Health Professions Center of Excellence ($6.6 million), Marina at Front Beach ($5.5 million), IMMS Outreach and Ecotourism ($825,000), Coastal Science Program for Mississippi High Schools ($1,886,500), Nonspecific Invasive Species Detection and Treatment ($1.1 million), Pascagoula River Scenic Trail ($2.75 million), Artificial Reef Project ($1.98 million), Mississippi Aquarium – Interactive Exhibit ($4.5 million), Classrooms and Dormitories for the Center for Marine Education and Research ($2.75 million), Natural Gas Improvements, and KHSA Taxilane Sierra Extension.

A five-phase process was approved to develop Mississippi’s SEP. To review a summary of Mississippi’s planning process for the development of the SEP, please review the following document.