The Gulf Consortium met on September 18, 2013 in West Palm Beach to begin discussions on the draft regulations issued recently by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This extensive compilation describes the procedures required by the RESTORE Act and generally describes the responsibilities of Federal and State entities which administer Restore Act programs and carry out restoration activities in the Gulf Coast Region. Understanding the importance of these regulations, the Consortium agreed to hold a meeting in Tallahassee on October 25 devoted exclusively to finalizing their comments on the rules which are due to the Treasury Department by November 5, 2013.

Also of note, the Consortium approved a motion to add an additional Public Comment period to their agenda for future meetings. From now on, the public will be given a chance to speak at the beginning of each meeting as well as at the end of the meeting. Audubon applauds this decision and looks forward to the increased dialogue at future meetings.