RESTORE Act
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Multi-year Implementation Plan (MYIP)
The county’s MYIP was formally approved by the Board of County Commissioners in September 2015 and submitted to the Treasury in October 2016. The U.S. Department of the Treasury approved this initial MYIP in October 2016. Monroe County will submit future amendments to this plan.
Upcoming Projects
At the Oct. 15, 2025, meeting, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners approved adding the Boca Chica Mooring Field project to the list of eligible projects in the county’s RESTORE Act Multi-Year Implementation Plan (MYIP).
The RESTORE (Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies) Act of the Gulf Coast States of 2012 was enacted in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The act directs Clean Water Act civil penalties from the oil spill into the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund to support environmental and economic recovery projects in the Gulf Coast region. Monroe County’s MYIP, first approved in 2015 and accepted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2016, outlines how the county uses its share of funds to implement projects that restore and protect natural resources, improve water quality, and strengthen local communities.
The Boca Chica Mooring Field project supports Florida’s statutory requirements for creating a designated, regulated anchorage under Section 327.4108, and it will help protect sensitive marine habitats by reducing damage from unmanaged anchoring, enhancing public safety, and providing needed shoreside infrastructure to support the boating community.
The amendment will enable the county to use $3.5 million in RESTORE Act funding, combined with a $1.65 million state legislative appropriation, to construct the shoreside facility needed for the mooring field.
The public is invited to comment on the proposed amendment for 45 days from Oct. 16 to Dec. 2, 2025, by emailing restoreact@monroecounty-fl.gov. Comments received during the public review period will be considered before the amendment is finalized and submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for approval.
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The RESTORE Act is a 2012 federal law that established the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund. It provides programs, projects, and activities that restore and protect the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast Region, which were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The passage of the “Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012” (RESTORE Act) provides opportunities for meaningful efforts to revitalize Gulf of Mexico waters and resources from the harmful effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The act establishes a trust fund for which 80 percent of the Clean Water Act civil penalties assessed will be distributed to the states and their respective political jurisdictions with a coastline contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico.
Direct Component: “Local Pot”
All Florida Gulf coastal counties will receive a portion of the Equal-Share State Allocation or the Direct Component (35 percent of the RESTORE fund, 7 percent to each state). Monroe County is eligible to apply for a total of $XX distributed over a 15-year period under this pot of funding. The U.S. Department of the Treasury federally administers these funds.
These funds can be used for the restoration and protection of natural resources, mitigation of damage to fish and wildlife, and workforce development and job creation.
Gulf Consortium: “State Pot”
The Gulf Consortium will plan how to spend Florida’s share of state funds, the Oil Spill Impact-Based Allocation (30 percent). The Gulf Consortium has developed an Expenditure Plan to distribute Florida's share of these funds. The initial state expenditure plan was approved in June 2018. Projects were chosen for each county based on the same criteria as the direct component funds.
The Gulf Consortium is a public entity created in October 2012 by an interlocal agreement among Florida's 23 Gulf Coast counties, from Escambia County in the western panhandle of Florida to Monroe County. Florida’s 23 Gulf Coast Counties formed the Consortium to meet the requirements of the RESTORE Act to develop a State Expenditure Plan for economic and environmental recovery of the Gulf Coast in Florida following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Additional RESTORE Act Resources
The Treasury is responsible for establishing procedures, rules, and regulations for the RESTORE Act funds.