Three of the nation's most influential environmental groups on Wednesday called for the Obama administration and Congress to speed up funding to begin construction on long-awaited coastal restoration projects in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, including the creation of a $5 billion BP escrow account to jump-start the process. The Environmental Defense Fund, the National Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation proposed a plan aimed at merging the long-term oil spill restoration process with already-existing, yet unfunded, plans to rebuild Louisiana's tattered coastal wetlands - and doing it quickly. In addition to the $5 billion escrow account, the groups are asking Congress to direct the proceeds from BP's Clean Water Act violations - potentially up to $4,300 per barrel spilled - toward funding restoration in Louisiana and along the Gulf coast. And they are asking Congress to appropriate an additional $500 million from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to begin funding a suite of coastal restoration projects that were authorized in 2007, but have barely gotten off the ground. The goal is to have funds available immediately, so that restoration work can begin as the federal government embarks on what will likely be a lengthy, years-long assessment ...
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