The revenue generated from oil and gas leases in the Gulf will go to projects in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.
The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, commonly known as GOMESA, created revenue sharing provisions for the four Gulf oil and gas producing states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas – and their coastal political subdivisions. The Mississippi Legislature is tasked with appropriating those funds received by the state. This year, that total exceeded $100 million.
GOMESA funds are generated from oil and gas leasing revenues in the Gulf of Mexico. The monies are to be used for coastal restoration projects that promote coastal conservation, restoration and hurricane protection.
According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a revenue sharing cap of $500 million per year for the four Gulf producing States, their coastal political subdivisions and the Land and Water Conservation Fund applies from fiscal years 2016 through 2055. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in 2017, increased the cap to $650 million in FY20 and FY21.
The U.S. Department of the Interior reports that the FY23 disbursement for Mississippi was over $51.8 million with the state receiving $41.47 million and the counties of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson receiving $1.96 million, $4.08 million, and $4.32 million, respectively. That is up from 2022’s disbursements where the state received $29.42 million and the coastal counties of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson received $3.06 million, $2.9 million, and $1.4 million, respectively.
The appropriations of GOMESA funds from the Mississippi Legislature were listed in HB 1636, which also included another $12 million in coastal projects funded through tidelands funds.
Governor Tate Reeves signed HB 1636 into law last week which committed the $100,192,527 of GOMESA funding as passed by the Legislature.
“This critical set of projects will strengthen Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, empower conservation efforts, and improve the quality of life in local communities,” said Governor Reeves in a release related to the signing. “I was proud to sign this legislation into law and to direct these funds to where they’re most needed. I greatly look forward to seeing the impact that these funds will have.”
The full list of GOMESA projects can be found below:
• $2,000,000 to assist the City of Pascagoula with the Live Oak Corridor Drainage to Remedy Flooding
• $1,200,000 to assist the City of Gulfport with the North Gulfport Wastewater Treatment Plant UV Disinfection
• $10,650,000 to assist the Hancock County Utility Authority with the Stennis Space Center Wastewater Conveyance Project
• $2,693,000 to assist the City of Long Beach with the Small Craft Harbor Eastern Bulkhead Improvements
• $2,590,000 to assist the City of Pass Christian with the West Breakwater Wall Hurricane Mitigation Improvements
• $2,000,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with Oyster Spat
• $1,000,000 to assist the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies with Monitoring and Evaluation of Sea Turtle Nesting in Mississippi
• $532,242 to assist the University of Southern Mississippi with the Mississippi Coastal Fishery Resource Assessment
• $1,749,220 to assist the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission with Bank Mitigation
• $1,195,571 to assist the University of Southern Mississippi with Oak Island Oyster Company in the Development and Testing of an Off Bottom Oyster Structure
• $750,000 to assist Jackson County with Coastal Roadway Hurricane Protection
• $1,500,000 to assist the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies with Monitoring/Gauging Habitat Suitability for Dolphins and Turtles
• $2,255,600 to assist the Kiln Utility District with Jourdan River Shores Sewer Improvements Phase II
• $1,600,000 to assist Harrison County with Sand Beach Outfall Coordination
• $1,960,000 to assist the City of Ocean Springs With Sewer Rehabilitation
• $1,000,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with Oyster Cultch
• $2,540,000 to assist the City of Pass Christian with Highway 90 Hurricane Mitigation Improvements
• $500,000 to assist Coastal Mississippi with the promotion of the Seafood Industry and their Economic Contributions to the State
• $1,999,839 to assist the City of Diamondhead With Drainage, Flood Prevention and Water Quality Improvements Phase II
• $1,710,000 to assist Jackson County with East Beach Outfalls/Shoreline Protection
• $2,973,981 to assist the City of Gautier with Hickory Hills/Lagrange Water Quality and Stormwater Improvements
• $2,520,000 to assist the City of Biloxi with Keegan Bayou Restoration
• $650,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Coffee Creek Outfall Pavilion
• $2,554,000 to assist the City of Long Beach with Small Craft Harbor Southern Quay Bulkhead Improvements
• $1,475,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with Bonnet Carre Spillway Mitigation
• $500,000 to assist the City of D‘Iberville with the Working Waterfront and Seafood Harbor Project
• $3,114,002 to assist the University of Southern Mississippi with the Ocean Enterprise Project
• $894,380 to assist the City of Biloxi with the East Biloxi Boardwalk sand re-nourishment
• $367,638 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Coffee Creek Outfall
• $102,241 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Coffee Creek water quality
• $165,967 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Infinity Science Center
• $658,740 to assist Jackson County Board of Supervisors with the Front Beach Erosion Control
• $1,396,227 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with GOMESA project management, development and mitigation
• $744,054 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with artificial reef construction
• $985,054 to assist the Department of Environmental Quality with water quality
• $161,132 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with Bonnet Carre Response
• $258,368 to assist Jackson County with a Watershed Development Plan
• $495,000 to assist the City of Diamondhead with Marsh Erosion Prevention
• $967,575 to assist the City of Pass Christian With Sanitary Sewer Pump Station Repairs
• $2,213,648 to assist Hancock County with Atlantic Street Sewer Improvements
• $2,188,000 to assist the City of Long Beach with Small Craft Harbor SE Bulkhead Improvements
• $392,378 to assist the Kiln Utility District with the Jordan River Shores Sewer Force Main Relocation
• $764,863 to assist the City of Biloxi with the Point Cadet Living Shoreline
• $70,789 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with MS Reef Fish Monitoring and Assessment
• $2,811,548 to assist Hancock County Utility Authority with Oak Harbor Sewer Improvements
• $265,010 to assist Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission with Port Bienville Conservation Management
• $3,321,800 to assist the City of Gautier with Water Quality and Infrastructure Sanitary Sewer
• $498,277 to assist the City of Pascagoula with Buena Vista Area Drainage
• $1,744,319 to assist the City of Pass Christian with Gravity Sewer System Improvements Phase I
• $347,351 to assist the City of Pascagoula with Point Park Pier Repair/Improvements
• $114,530 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Railroad Corner Beneficial Use Site
• $99,774 to assist the University of Southern Mississippi with collection of Fishery-Dependent information on Blue Crabs
• $289,727 to assist the National Oceans and Applications Research Center with the Cat Island Baseline Inventory of Seagrass Habitat
• $369,614 to assist the National Oceans and Applications Research Center with the Inventory Of Wetlands Habitats
• $87,792 to assist the National Oceans and Applications Research Center with the Pelican Key Baseline Hydrographic Survey
• $2,088,170 to assist Mississippi State University with the Evaluation and Monitoring of Marine Mammal and Sea Turtles after Bonnet Carre Spillway Opening
• $665,918 to assist the American Shrimp Processors Association with the Shrimp Processors Feasibility Study
• $1,800,000 to assist the Jackson County Utility Authority with Septic System Abatements
• $381,000 to assist the University of Southern Mississippi with the Mississippi Coastal Fishery Resource Assessment
• $430,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Katrina Key Expansion
• $3,678,850 to assist the Secretary of State with the Broadwater Marina Restoration
• $366,335 to assist the City of Pass Christian with Sewer Pump Station Repairs
• $1,193,447 to assist the City of Diamondhead With Drainage, Flood Prevention and Water Quality Improvements
• $802,931 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Bonnet Carre and Mid Breton Response
• $2,614,984 to assist the City of Ocean Springs with the Front Beach Pub Access and Storm Water Mitigation Improvements
• $4,594,986 to assist the City of Pass Christian with Phase II of the Gravity Sewer System Improvements
• $1,455,173 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Off Bottom Oyster Aquaculture
• $348,220 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with the Pelican Key Beneficial Use Site
• $400,000 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with Phase II of the Katrina Key Expansion
• $1,339,000 to assist the Jackson County Board of Supervisors with the Pascagoula Beach Open Channel Outfalls
• $45,262 to assist the Department of Marine Resources with water testing for Seafood Consumption Safety
