MS restoration projects lagging

Like many Mississippi Gulf Coast residents, tour boat Capt. Louis Skrmetta remembers what happened to the clear green water near Ship Island a decade ago, after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. “It looked like taffy, floating through the water. Brown, caramel taffy.” Many Mississippians saw the firsthand damage – more than 10 years ago at an estimated $60B. Now, many interests are scrutinizing Mississippi’s recovery efforts. A Mississippi Today analysis of BP spending shows much of the restoration work is undone. As of last December, the state had spent $134M of $576M that leaves more than $700M for future projects. The analysis also shows only a dozen restoration projects have been completed - overseen by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Nearly 80 percent of funds went to non-environmental projects ($14M for Gulfport Aquarium, $10M for the INFINITY Science Center in Pearlington, and $4M for the Popp’s Ferry Causeway Park in Biloxi). About 60 percent had gone to environmental projects, as of December, showing much of the state’s ecological restoration is still in the future. Spending around water quality, which MDEQ frames as a top priority, has lagged behind. While other projects address the issue, the state’s central focus on water quality is to fix the coast’s aging sewer system, a project that had received less than a million dollars in spending as of last December. (Source: Mississippi Today 11/13/20) https://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/several-years-into-bp-settlement-spending-the-bulk-of-mississippis-restoration-work-remains-undone/article_2982a4d1-68f0-5efc-91a3-fb4bf1850ab5.html