Bill Text: FL S0218 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster/Penalties
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-03 - Ordered enrolled [S0218 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S0218-Enrolled.html
ENROLLED
2011 Legislature SM 218
2011218er
1
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
3 urging Congress to dedicate penalties collected from
4 parties responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil
5 disaster to repairing the environmental and economic
6 damage caused by the disaster.
7
8 WHEREAS, on the night of April 20, 2010, there was an
9 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which caused at least
10 170 million gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico over
11 the course of several months and wash up onto the coastlines of
12 the five Gulf states, and
13 WHEREAS, this man-made disaster spoiled portions of
14 Florida’s coastline and waterways and devastated its fishing and
15 tourism industries, and
16 WHEREAS, this man-made disaster has directly resulted in
17 the loss of jobs and business for Floridians, and
18 WHEREAS, a preliminary study by the University of Central
19 Florida predicted job losses of 195,000 and spending losses of
20 $10.9 billion if Florida’s 23 counties along the Gulf Coast lose
21 50 percent of their tourism and leisure jobs and spending, and
22 WHEREAS, that preliminary study also predicted job losses
23 of 39,000 and spending losses of $2 billion if those same
24 counties lose 10 percent of their tourism and leisure jobs and
25 spending, and
26 WHEREAS, despite clean-up efforts, oil remains buried in
27 the sand on the Gulf states’ coastlines and in the waters
28 offshore, and
29 WHEREAS, the amount of oil remaining in the Gulf waters is
30 still unknown and some researchers have discovered oil below the
31 sea’s surface, including on the ocean floor, and
32 WHEREAS, although seafood caught off of Florida’s coast is
33 safe to eat and approximately 90 percent of the fishing closures
34 in federal waters have been lifted, the long-term effect on the
35 Gulf’s sea life is still unknown, and
36 WHEREAS, under current law, any civil penalties recovered
37 pursuant to the Clean Water Act must be deposited into the Oil
38 Spill Liability Trust Fund to be used for clean-up and response
39 efforts for future oil spills, and
40 WHEREAS, United States Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus,
41 recommended that Congress dedicate a significant portion of any
42 civil penalties recovered under the Clean Water Act to providing
43 assistance for the region where the damage from the disaster
44 occurred, NOW, THEREFORE,
45
46 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48 That the Legislature requests the United States Congress to
49 enact legislation that permits any civil penalties recovered
50 under the Clean Water Act due to the Deepwater Horizon oil
51 disaster to be distributed in the following manner:
52 (1) Deposited into a newly created Gulf Coast Recovery
53 Fund, which is managed by a Gulf Coast Recovery Council and used
54 to provide assistance for long-term environmental and economic
55 recovery in the Gulf;
56 (2) Directed to the five Gulf states to enable each state
57 to pursue its own recovery efforts; and
58 (3) Deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for
59 future recovery efforts.
60 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
61 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
62 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
63 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
64 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
