Feds launch five-year contract to enhance tracking of Gulf oil spill restoration efforts
Coast Guard fire boats battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010, near New Orleans. Gettyimages.com/ Handout
By
Nick Wakeman
A web-based system provides ongoing oversight of ecosystem restoration and how settlement funds are being spent.
Work is continuing on restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico 15 years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council is looking to enhance its Deepwater Horizon Project Tracker, a database that monitors restoration efforts across the gulf.
The federal entity is looking to award a new five-year contract in support of ongoing operations, including a web-based tracking system that catalogs restoration efforts funded by the Deepwater Horizon settlement money.
One goal is to prevent duplication of efforts and provide transparency into how the billions of dollars of settlement funds are being spent, according to GovTribe solicitation documents.
The contractor will collect project data from various funding programs, maintain a geographic information system, perform quality assurance and deliver quarterly reports.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council was created in 2012 as part of the RESTORE Act. Its members include the governors of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
Also on the council are the secretaries of Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and Homeland Security. Both the secretary of the Army and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency are on the council as well.
The five-year contract has a one-year base and four one-year options. The value of the contract has not been disclosed.