Crist requests $100 million from BP for oil spill response
bizjournals.com
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Friday, June 4, 2010, 3:48pm
Gov. Charlie Crist has requested $100 million from BP to support the Florida Institute of Oceanography in its research of and response to the Deepwater Horizon incident.
FIO would use $100 million to implement an independent, real-time monitoring capability and documentation of conditions to respond to Florida’s seabed, water column, surface and shoreline, a release said.
Based at the Gulf Research Port in St. Petersburg, FIO is a partnership of 21 universities and other marine science organizations in Florida.
The proposal also outlines the development of technologies to improve the ability to detect and remediate oil spills, the release said.
FIO will work with Florida businesses providing services and products for response operations and may participate in the commercialization of technologies developed, according to the response proposal.
Florida has more than 1,260 miles of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, which host tourist destinations, the fishing industry and sensitive ecosystems, Crist said in the letter. “The potential impact of the spill on our economy, habitat and coastal communities demands that our state have a leadership role in the response,” Crist said.
BP has pledged $500 million for independent research and evaluation of the oil spill.
Crist sent the letter to Lamar McKay, president of BP America, on Thursday. |
