WASHINGTON -- Bob Graham, co-chairman of the National Oil Spill Commission, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that the Gulf Coast should be restored to a state far better than existed the day before the April 20 blowout of the Macondo well, a task he said would require $15 billion to $20 billion, or a minimum of $500 million per year over 30 years.
"If we make April 19 (2010) the target for restoration we would set our goal at an unnecessarily low aspiration," said Graham. "We should use the occasion of this environmental disaster to aim higher."
The Commission is recommending that 80 percent of any Clean Water Act penalties and fines assessed against BP because of the disaster be directed to Gulf Coast restoration.
He said if those funds are not made available, Congress should come up with some other mechanism to guarantee a steady stream of money for restoration efforts.
Graham also said the commission recommended that Congress create a joint state-federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to implement a restoration strategy for the region.
The way Obama was talking last night, you wouldn't expect we'd be able to start for at least another five years.
See also: Gulf Coast Ecosystem Recovery Task Force report (PDF) Presumably, this would be the "restoration strategy" they would look to implement.
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