Governor Bentley Announces Commissioner Guy Named Chairman of Oil Spill Trustee Council

By: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

MONTGOMERY (Governor’s Office) – Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday announced that Commissioner N. Gunter Guy, Jr., of Alabama’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has been named Chairman of the Trustee Council for the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill.

The Trustee Council is guided by a yearly rotating State Chair and Federal Vice-Chair selected from the Council membership.  Commissioner Guy began his tenure as Chair August 1, 2016. Guy has been serving on the Trustee Council since his appointment as Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources in January of 2011.

“As Commissioner of Alabama’s natural resources, Gunter is the best person to represent our state on this council,” Governor Bentley said. “Commissioner Guy will represent the entire gulf coast region as chairman and I know he will lead this group to do what is best for all of those affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Gunter will play an essential role in helping develop and achieve restoration projects and plans that will make the public and environment whole.”

“I am honored to serve as Trustee Council Chairman following our historic settlement of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” Commissioner Guy said. “I look forward to working with the other state and federal members of the Trustee Council to begin critical work for the long-term management, implementation and administration of up to $8.8 billion in settlement funds for Natural Resource Restoration in and for the Gulf of Mexico. I am also thankful to Governor Bentley for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility to represent him and the State of Alabama in this very important matter.”

the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, April 20, 2010, federal agencies joined with state agencies from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas to form the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustee Council. The Council studied the effects of the oil spill, and it continues to work collaboratively to restore the Gulf of Mexico to its natural condition had the oil spill never occurred.

Federal agencies that act as Trustees on the Council are NOAA under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For more information on the Trustee Council, visit the website http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/.  For more information specific to Alabama, see http://www.alabamacoastalrestoration.org/.

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