HYDE-SMITH PRAISES AWARD OF $27.7 MILLION IN GOMESA FUNDING
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, today praised the Interior Department announcement to distribute more than $27.7 million this year to the State of Mississippi and three coast counties for coastal conservation, restoration, and hazard mitigation activities.
The funding, announced by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday, represents Phase II disbursement of revenues generated through the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). The State of Mississippi will receive $22.2 million, with another $2.3 million for Jackson County, $2.15 million for Harrison County, and $1.05 million for Hancock County.
“GOMESA ensures that Mississippi, as a Gulf Coast state with off-shore energy production, receives a share of royalty revenues to address conservation and coastal restoration needs,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department.
“I’m pleased with our state’s willingness to support responsible off-shore energy production while also giving special focus to enhance the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast,” she said.
The funding distributed to Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas was generated from qualified oil and gas leasing revenues and disbursed in accordance with GOMESA revenue-sharing provisions. In all, the Interior Department distributed more than $187.9 million in FY2017 revenue-sharing receipts to the four states.
According to the Interior Department, the $188 million to be disbursed in FY2018 is over five times more than the total amount disbursed to states and CPS during the entirety of Phase I of GOMESA, extending from FY2009 through FY2017.
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