Judge blocks Alabama use oil spill funds to build hotel
Source: Associated Press
Judge blocks Alabama use oil spill funds to build hotel
Kim Chandler, Associated Press
Updated 7:35 pm, Tuesday, February 16, 2016
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Alabama from using early oil spill restoration funds to build a 350-room beachfront hotel and conference center.
U.S. District Judge Charles Butler ruled that state and federal trustees failed to comply with legal requirements to examine alternative uses for the money meant to address damage to natural resources. Butler blocked the state from using the money for the hotel development until the analysis is completed.
Gulf Restoration Network sued state and federal trustees over Alabama's plans to use $58.5 million in early restoration funds — a $1 billion pot of money set up by BP to begin addressing injuries to natural resources — to build a hotel and conference center at Gulf State Park. The environmental group argued that a hotel development isn't proper use of money meant to restore coastal damage after the largest oil spill in U.S history.
Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of Gulf Restoration Network, said in a statement that the ruling shows that the Natural Resources Damages Assessment trustees "cannot merely give lip service to compliance with environmental law."
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Judge-blocks-Alabama-use-oil-spill-funds-to-build-6834827.php
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Sounds like they want to use this project to backfill the holes in their state budget. The conference center would allegedly provide tax money and jobs so they could support the state parks that they have underfunded. It may be a good idea, but it is not environmental restoration.
I'm not sure of the involvement of the University of Alabama in this - perhaps they would get revenue also. I certainly hope it would go to their football program
