The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Commissioner Toby Baker has announced that requests for grant applications will be accepted beginning Friday, Jan. 15 for more than $56 million in funding available for environmental, ecological, or economic projects. Baker made the announcement while speaking at the agency’s State of the Bay Symposium in Galveston.
Eligible projects in the Gulf Coast region include those that: restore and protect natural habitats, mitigate damage to fish and wildlife, improve state parks in coastal areas, protect against coastal floods, promote tourism and/or consumption of Gulf Coast seafood, and develop the workforce and create jobs in the coastal region.
Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. CST on April 15, 2016. Detailed information on eligibility, how to apply, scoring criteria, as well as an opportunity to sign up to receive information and updates, is available on the RESTORE website. In addition, the RFGA will be posted on the Electronic State Business Daily website. Once an initial list of projects is developed, it will be posted in the Texas Register and on the RESTORE site for public comment.
The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) established the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council and the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund and dedicates 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the Trust Fund, for restoration projects in the Gulf Coast region. Baker is Governor Abbott’s appointee to the council representing the State of Texas.