[StBernard] St. Bernard meets requirements for some Clean Water Act oil spill penalty money

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard meets requirements for some Clean Water Act oil spill penalty
money

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on October 09, 2014 at 6:52 PM, updated October 09, 2014 at 7:34 PM
 
St. Bernard Parish's new comprehensive plan was approved and certified by
the governor's office as meeting the requirements of the federal Restore Act
and thus placing it in line to receive a portion of Clean Water Act
penalties from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, parish President
Dave Peralta said on Thursday (Oct. 9).

The St. Bernard Parish Planning Commission adopted the comprehensive plan in
August. A parish is required to have such a plan to qualify under the
Restore Act.

St. Bernard is one of 20 "coastal zone" parishes in the state that will
receive shares of that money. As of June 30, it appeared there was about
$13.2 million that would be divided, under a complex formula, and given
directly to each of those parishes.

The governor's office indicated that St. Bernard was line for about 9.7
percent of that pot, or $1.2 million. That is the third-highest amount of
any of the coastal parishes.

Peralta indicated Thursday there could be closer to $1.4 million coming to
the parish in 2015.

It appears that most of the money will be used for coastal restoration
projects.

Based on the governor's office's June estimates, Plaquemines Parish was in
line to get the most of that $13.2 million - about 18 percent of the total
pot, or nearly $2.4 million.

Jefferson Parish was set to come in second, with about 12 percent or about
$1.6 million.

How much each parish gets of the total chunk is based on a weighed formu
that considers how many miles of the parish shoreline were oiled, the parish
population size and its land mass.

NOLA.com | Times-Picayune reporter Mark Schleifstein contributed to this
report.