WASHINGTON (CN) - Saying its work was done, President Barack Obama terminated the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Task Force, which was created to coordinate intergovernmental planning efforts in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The largest oil spill in U.S. history, the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe compounded the longstanding ecological decline of the Gulf Coast.
The task force was created by executive order on April 20, 2010 to create an ecosystem recovery strategy. The strategy was released in December, and a new entity, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, will be responsible for its implementation.
The council was created by the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE) to evaluate and recommend ecological restoration projects for funding from trust fund also established by the act.
Under the RESTORE Act, the council is also responsible for gathering information relevant to Gulf Coast restoration and providing an annual report to Congress on implementation of the restoration plan.
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