Understanding and Participating in Gulf Restoration
There are a number of opportunities for the public to participate in various stages of Gulf recovery and restoration. You can learn more about the different Gulf restoration processes at our pages on Natural Resource Damage Assessment and the Clean Water Act & RESTORE.
Overview of Participation Opportunities
There have been and will continue to be numerous opportunities to engage in Gulf restoration and recovery. The following timeline shows the most recent and upcoming opportunities to keep an eye out for:
Understanding Restoration Planning in the Gulf
As part of the recovery effort following the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the government agencies tasked with restoring the Gulf’s natural resources through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process are required to produce a series of restoration planning documents. These range from individual project proposals to full restoration plans that include multiple projects and discuss environmental consequences and alternatives. The public has opportunities to provide feedback on restoration planning documents, but deciphering them is challenging if you are not already familiar with the policy and practice of natural resource restoration.
View our guide “Understanding Restoration Planning and Procedures” for information about different restoration goals and techniques, the components of restoration plans and project proposals, and tips for understanding and evaluating them:
Want to learn more? Visit our page “Introduction to Public Participation” for an overview of public participation and for tips on providing public comments.