This week, the U.S. Treasury Department released guidelines on how money from the RESTORE Act can be spent. The rules govern a 35% portion of RESTORE Act money that will be divided equally among the Gulf States and 5% dedicated for science.

Vanishing Paradise Director Steve Bender released the following statement:

"These rules represent progress for the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River Delta, which was ground zero for the 2010 oil disaster. We thank the Treasury Department for preserving the RESTORE Act's intended purpose to restore the Gulf habitats.

Sportsmen and women from all across the country care about the Mississippi River Delta and the Gulf Coast, for their world-class hunting and fishing opportunities. All along the Gulf Coast, environmental restoration is urgently needed. We must rebuild healthy habitats for fish and wildlife so they can be enjoyed by future generations of hunters and anglers.

We hope this rule will provide the RESTORE Council with the information needed to develop a list of funded restoration projects that can be implemented as soon as possible. There is no time to lose."

The Mississippi River Delta provides a cornerstone for the ecological and economic well-being of the entire northern Gulf. But Louisiana is losing a football field of land every hour - a land loss crisis that was further exacerbated by the oil spill.

The state of Louisiana has restoration solutions within reach - including a Coastal Master Plan that can rebuild degraded coastal wetlands - but the delay of these guidelines was holding up the RESTORE Council's project approvals from moving forward. Clearly, we're excited to see one less hurdle for restoration of Sportsman's Paradise and the Gulf coast.

Background: The RESTORE Act sends 80% of all Clean Water Act fines resulting from the 2010 Gulf oil disaster back to the Gulf States. Once these regulations from the Treasury Department are finalized, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council will be able to access $800 million from the Transocean settlement.

BP and other parties responsible for the oil spill face as much as $4,300 per barrel in Clean Water Act fines. The ongoing trial is set to resume in January 2015.