MEDIA ADVISORY: Feb. 6, 2013
DEP, FWC TO ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENT ON GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL PLAN
~The State will be accepting ideas for Florida's projects~
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection
will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 in Panama City Beach to gather input
on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s Path Forward document and
Florida’s projects to be submitted to the Council for its consideration. The
meeting will be co-hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission and will be held in the Student Union East Conference Center at Gulf
Coast State College.
The Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission will be presenting information on the state’s five
priority areas for projects and will seek input on projects the public would
like submitted to the Council for consideration for inclusion in the initial
Comprehensive Plan.
The RESTORE Act, which was passed by Congress on
June 29, 2012 and signed into law by President Obama on July 6, 2012, created
the Council, and established several funding categories for the Clean Water Act
civil and administrative penalties resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010. The Council is
required, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to publish an
initial Comprehensive Plan by July 6, 2013. The Path Forward document, which
was released by the Council on Jan. 29, describes how the Council will build on
the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force’s work and articulates the
Council’s plan to collaboratively develop the initial Comprehensive Plan.
The public may provide comments on
the Path Forward document by email to RestoreCouncil@doc.gov. State
projects can be submitted online by visiting http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/projects_restore_act.htm.
The
event will take place:
Thursday, Feb. 28,
2013
6:00 p.m. Open
House
7:00 p.m.
Presentation and Public Comment
Gulf Coast State
College
5230 W. U.S. 98
Panama City Beach,
FL 32401
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