The Water Institute of the Gulf was selected by Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to serve as the State’s RESTORE Act Center of Excellence, and on November 1, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury awarded CPRA a grant to begin its research program. Funding for the research program comes from fines and penalties in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Announced on June 22, 2017, 13 projects were awarded with a total near $3 million that includes research and collaborative awards as well as graduate studentships. On August 17, 2018, the RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana, in cooperation with Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, held an all-hands meeting in Baton Rouge to receive updates from the 2017 grant awardees funded under the first request for proposals. Read the full update here.