The five Gulf Coast states affected by the 2010 BP-Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout will soon receive federal funds to help restore local environments.

Estimates peg that total to range from $1.5–$2 million per year for 10 or more years, as part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourism Opportunities, and Revived Economy Act of 2012, better known as the RESTORE Act.

RESTORE established a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council that includes the five affected states’ governors and the secretaries of the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and Homeland Security. The council will ultimately oversee the distribution of funds as it receives and reviews project requests from communities all over the Gulf Coast.

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