Florida Senate - 2011                                     SM 614
       
       
       
       By Senator Evers
       
       
       
       
       2-00738-11                                             2011614__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to support the implementation of a
    4         regional United Recovery Plan for the Northwest
    5         Florida Panhandle.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
    8  exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, and on April 22, 2010, the
    9  Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank in the Gulf of Mexico resulting
   10  in widespread environmental and economic consequences, and
   11         WHEREAS, seven coastal counties in the Northwest Florida
   12  Panhandle region, which include Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf,
   13  Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties, incurred the most
   14  significant impacts as a result of the disaster, and
   15         WHEREAS, this coastal region has suffered losses to its
   16  environmental resources, and
   17         WHEREAS, the local economy in this coastal region has
   18  further suffered incalculable economic losses due to the oil
   19  spill as it has impacted tourism, property values, the
   20  recreational fishing and commercial seafood industries,
   21  recreational opportunities, marinas and boating, restaurants,
   22  the quality of life for residents of and visitors to the region,
   23  and numerous other facets of the economy, and
   24         WHEREAS, the coastal counties of the Northwest Florida
   25  Panhandle region seek to organize a unified recovery response
   26  effort in order to mitigate the disastrous environmental and
   27  economic impacts facing this region and promote economic growth
   28  and sustainability, and
   29         WHEREAS, to facilitate this common goal, the counties of
   30  the Northwest Florida Panhandle region resolve to develop a
   31  comprehensive United Recovery Plan detailing a proposed strategy
   32  to facilitate both environmental remediation and economic
   33  diversification within the region, and
   34         WHEREAS, the United Recovery Plan will represent the
   35  counties’ collective strategy for regional recovery and preserve
   36  each county’s right to develop and implement an individual
   37  strategy for local recovery, NOW, THEREFORE,
   38  
   39  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   40  
   41         That the Legislature recognizes and supports the creation
   42  and implementation of a United Recovery Plan for the Northwest
   43  Florida Panhandle.
   44         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes the
   45  counties’ collective strategy for regional recovery and each
   46  county’s right to develop and implement an individual strategy
   47  for local recovery.
   48         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   49  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   50  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   51  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
   52  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.