WLOX.com - The News for South MississippiEnvironmental groups demand "Sunshine on the Gulf"

Leaders of several environmental and social service groups are calling for more "transparency" and public input in the ongoing process to determine which oil spill restoration projects will be funded by BP.

A coalition called "Gulf Future" issued a report Wednesday called "Sunshine on the Gulf."

They're calling for changes in the "Natural Resource Damage Assessment" process.

"We need to make sure there's a transparent process set up now to ensure that BP's early restoration dollars actually lead to restoration. The current process clearly fails to do that," said Raleigh Hoke, of the Gulf Restoration Network.

Leaders of several environmental and social justice groups are demanding accountability in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, the so-called NERDA process.

Trustees, including Mississippi DEQ Director Trudy Fisher, will help decide how $1 billion of BP money is spent on "early restoration projects."

"And the real concern is when you have a non-transparent agency, government units, with a free flow of public money, there is the potential for abuse," said Buck Lawrence, with the Steps Coalition.

The group said too few public meetings have been held to consider what might be appropriate restoration projects.

They said the community deserves input before decisions are rendered.

"You can't come in after the fact, once the trustees decide on the projects, and say yes or no, these are good or bad. The public needs to be in on the front end, not the back end," said Biloxi resident, Terese Collins.

"The lack of transparency in this approach of selecting early projects precludes meaningful public participation in the restoration planning process," said Louie Miller with the Mississippi Sierra Club.

The group reviewed the list of restoration projects already proposed and developed its own suggested criteria for evaluating which projects are best.

"We began to see and it became quite obvious that there is no process to the process," said Lawrence.

Group leaders are planning to meet with the DEQ director to share their concerns and request further public hearings.

WLOX News contacted DEQ director Trudy Fisher for a response.

She told us while she appreciates the input from the "Gulf Future" coalition, she insists there has been plenty of opportunity for public input through the NERDA process.

Director Fisher said, public meetings have been held and members of the public have submitted proposed restoration projects through the DEQ web site.

She also said there will be at least a dozen public meetings upcoming across the gulf region, seeking public comment and input on the "Draft Early Restoration Plan."

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