State and Federal Plans and Reports

This page contains links to important state and federal government documents that relate to the BP oil disaster and ongoing restoration and recovery in the Gulf. Documents are divided into two categories: Restoration Plans, Visions and Strategies contains forward-looking documents intended to facilitate restoration in the Gulf, and Incident Reports and Assessments contains reports pertaining directly to the oil spill and its impacts.

Restoration Plans, Visions, and Strategies

These documents are arranged by restoration process, and then by the government entity that created them.  Where draft documents are listed, we will replace them with the final versions when those become available.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)

Early Restoration

RESTORE Act

Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Treasury Department was required by the RESTORE Act to establish procedures for administering RESTORE Act funds and for assessing the compliance of funded projects. The draft procedures, originally due on January 2, 2013, were released on September 6, 2013. They have yet to be finalized.

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council was created by the RESTORE Act in 2012 and is tasked with developing and implementing a science-based plan to restore natural resources in the Gulf.

  • Final Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy and Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Aug. 2013)

  • NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program

    Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force (no longer acting)

    The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force was created by an Executive Order of the President in 2010. The Task Force published a comprehensive Restoration Strategy for the Gulf of Mexico (and was ordered by a second Executive Order to disband within 60 days after the first meeting of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council). The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council must include information and findings from the Task Force in their proposed plan.

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    Department of the Navy

    Navy Secretary Ray Mabus put forth a restoration plan for the Gulf Coast several months after the incident. Many elements of the plan, which included a call for dedicated restoration funding, were ultimately included in the 2012 RESTORE Act.

    State Restoration & Management Plans

    Several Gulf states have developed state-wide coastal restoration and management plans, either directly related to or in parallel with the ongoing Deepwater Horizon restoration processes.

    Incident Reports and Assessments

    A number of reports were produced to examine the causes and impacts of the Deepwater Horizon incident. These documents are arranged chronologically by publication date.  We have limited the list to governmental or government-requested reports and assessments.