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 WASHINGTON (AP) - Four lucky states were slated to share billions in potential royalties courtesy of an offshore drilling expansion signed into law last year, money that could help reverse decades of environmental damage from coastal industry. But as budget planning gets under way, the states are beginning to realize that Congress gave them far more freedom in spending the windfall than the political rhetoric in Washington suggested.
Particularly, one little-noticed sentence in the legislation allows the states to use their money on "onshore infrastructure projects" to mitigate outer continental shelf activities. Translation: They can use it to pave roads, erect bridges, lay water lines or finish just about any other public works projects they can link to the coast.
"It is very tempting," said Bill Walker, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. "I would not be surprised as these funds begin to come in and get larger and larger that there will be people at the state level saying, 'We need to do this or that or the other thing.' We'll try to keep them focused on doing environmental and conservation things, but they make the rules."
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