MDA accepting applications for Restoration Fund projects

The Mississippi Development Authority is taking project applications for the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund.

Applications can be found online at mississippi.org/gcrf. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28.

Representatives from MDA, as well as members of the GCRF advisory board, will review the projects and make recommendations to the Legislature. Legislators will fund selected projects during the 2021 session. This money will be used to stimulate growth and economic development in the lower six counties: Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, George, Stone and Pearl River.

Those eligible to apply include local governments, nongovernmental organizations, colleges and universities, community colleges, ports, airports, public-private partnerships, private entities, nonprofit groups and local economic development groups.

Mississippi reached a settlement with BP in 2016 for $750 million over the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which happened in April of 2010. The state received an initial payment of $150 million and will receive $40 million annually from 2019 through 2033.