Who We Are
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) is a small federal agency established in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster to plan for and carry out restoration across the Gulf Coast. Led by the Governors of the five Gulf states and heads of 6 federal agencies, the RESTORE Council funds and oversees ecological and economic recovery projects sponsored by its members.
The Council manages over $3.2 billion in ecosystem restoration funding with a small staff. It continues to collaboratively develop and support Deepwater Horizon disaster recovery projects including habitat protection, wetland restoration, water quality improvement and a range of other large scale ecosystem and economic activities from Texas to Florida.
The RESTORE Act
The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act) is a 2012 federal law passed in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Congress anticipated that there would be monetary penalties to be paid by parties resonsible for the oil spill. The RESTORE Act was put in place to direct a portion of such funding to ecosystem restoration and economic recovery along the Gulf coast.