February 17, 2016, Gulf Shores, AL
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama prohibited Alabama and federal officials from allocating $58.5 million dollars of BP drilling disaster “natural resource restoration” funds to construct a hotel along an Alabama beach.
Holding that the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (“NRDA”) Trustees clearly violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”) by failing to consider any reasonable restoration alternatives to the hotel project, Senior Judge Charles R. Butler, Jr. prohibited the use of money from the “early restoration funds” provided by BP to partly fund a lodge and conference center in a state park at Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The court criticized the government for “circular logic” in allocating these funds “for possible use in a project that … was little more than an idea,” and emphasized that “[t]his case demonstrates the importance of providing a clear and meaningful analysis of alternatives.”
“This decision affirms that NRDA Trustees cannot merely give lip service to compliance with environmental law,” said Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director of Gulf Restoration Network (“GRN”), which filed the case to challenge the use of natural resources restoration money to construct the hotel. “We are hopeful that today’s ruling will ensure that all future BP-related funding flows to the best possible restoration projects.”
“We didn’t lose any hotels or convention centers in the oil spill,” said Robert Wiygul, an attorney with Waltzer Wiygul & Garside who represented the GRN. “We lost marshes and wildlife and habitat. Let’s hope that now this money will go to fixing something that actually got broken by the oil spill.“
“Money designated for use in restoring damaged natural resources should be used for that purpose—not for building a hotel,” said Steve Roady of Earthjustice, who served as co-counsel for GRN. “The court has provided an important affirmation that NEPA establishes strong protections against such unwise government action.”