BOEMRE Transitions Conservation Grant Program to Fish and Wildlife Service

Total Cumulative Grants for State and Local Conservation and Environmental Projects Exceeds $402.6 Million

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced it will complete the transition of its Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Oct. 1, 2011. Since FY 2007, BOEMRE has awarded $402,619,499 in CIAP grants to support state and local projects to enhance conservation and environmental protection.

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states – Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas – for the conservation, protection and preservation of coastal areas, including wetlands. CIAP received appropriated funds from FY 2007-2010, which were distributed through a formal grant program. 

“CIAP has made a substantial contribution to funding state and local projects to promote the health and sustainability of our nation’s coastal environments,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “BOEMRE has worked hard to build an efficient and effective program to support these worthwhile efforts and we have worked equally hard to ensure the program’s smooth transition to the FWS.”

As outlined in the President’s FY2012 Budget, CIAP administration will be transferred within the Department of the Interior on Oct. 1, 2011, from BOEMRE to the FWS. CIAP will be managed under the FWS Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The move aligns the program with the FWS conservation mission and similar grant programs. The transfer will allow the successor agencies to BOEMRE – the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) – to focus on programs more directly aligned with their respective missions.

As detailed in the chart below, CIAP funds are allocated to each producing state for state projects and to each state’s eligible Coastal Political Subdivisions (CPS) – boroughs, counties and parishes – for local projects based on allocation formulas prescribed by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. CIAP funding allocation for each eligible state is determined by the state’s qualified OCS revenue generated off of its coast in proportion to the total qualified OCS revenue generated off the coasts of all eligible states.

Cumulative CIAP Grant Disbursement through Fiscal Year 2011

State	State Amount Received	CPS Amount Received	Total
Alabama	$25,981,433	$14,771,910	$40,753,343
Alaska	$24,095,568	$10,579,005	$34,674,573
California	$12,356,320	$3,396,764	$15,753,084
Louisiana	$146,620,511	$76,806,478	$223,426,989
Mississippi	$41,848,089	$7,634,693	$49,482,782
Texas	$31,343,395	$7,185,333	$38,528,728
Grand Total	$282,245,316	$120,374,183	$402,619,499

CIAP funding is used for projects and activities that support the conservation, protection and restoration of coastal areas, including wetlands; mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife or natural resources; planning assistance and the administrative costs of complying with CIAP legislation; implementation of federally-approved marine, coastal or comprehensive conservation management plans; or mitigation of the impact of OCS activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects and public service needs. Benefits of CIAP funding can be found throughout the Gulf of Mexico region, California and Alaska.

Contact: BOEMRE Public Affairs