This announcement provides guidance to the Gulf Coast States – defined as any of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas – or the Gulf Coast States’ administrative agents and the Gulf Consortium of Florida counties to apply for grants to fund planning activities

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to develop individual State Expenditure Plans (SEP) under the Spill Impact Component of the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).

The eligible entities may apply to the Council for a grant to use the minimum allocation available under the Spill Impact Component of the RESTORE Act for planning purposes.

The submission process for this announcement is organized into two phases:
(1) the submission of a planning SEP by a Gulf Coast State; and (2) the administrative application process, which includes the submission of all administrative grant application materials by the eligible entities.

All planning activities proposed under this announcement are limited to the development of a comprehensive SEP, including conceptual design and feasibility studies related to specific projects.

This announcement does not include engineering and environmental studies related to specific projects.

It also does not include any pre-award costs incurred prior to August 22, 201 4.