Governor Kay Ivey announces $67 million in GoMESA projects for 2023

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - It was Christmas in July for many communities across Mobile and Baldwin Counties Friday, July 14, 2023. Governor Kay Ivey was in town to award more than $67 million dollars in Gulf of Mexico Security Act (GoMESA) funding for 27 projects this year.

Governor Ivey announced this year’s GoMESA award recipients to a packed house at Gulf Quest Maritime Museum Friday morning. It was a who’s who of elected officials from across Mobile and Baldwin counties. Many of the coastal conservation-based projects could never be done if not for the lease money paid by energy companies drilling off our coast.

“With this future money added to it, we have a total of seventy-eight projects totaling a hundred and eighty million dollars that has improved this area, making coastal Alabama really more accessible to people and improved that infrastructure. That will continue,” said Ivey.

Mobile County will see 12 projects funded for a total of $25.7 million dollars. Across the bay, Baldwin County has 13 projects for a total of $40.8 million.

Taking a look at the top three projects in each county, in Mobile County, $5.2f million will go towards land acquisition along West Fowl River and Heron Bay, $4.3 million will be spent on a new Cedar Point Boat Ramp and $3.2 million will be spent to rehabilitate Dauphin Island’s water and sewer system.

In Baldwin County, Daphne’s getting $7.2 million for its Bayfront Park Amphitheater and Park improvements, $7 million will go toward land acquisition in the Perdido Watershed area and Foley’s getting $5 million to purchase more land to expand Graham Creek Nature Preserve.

From beach renourishments to parks improvements to the building of multiple boat ramps in both counties, the projects are diverse, and communities across the gulf coast continue to benefit.

Director of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Chris Blankenship said the revenue stream GoMESA provides annually is a game changer.

“We’re really seeing those dollars come into Alabama to do good work to improve our water quality, to improve our infrastructure, to do the land acquisition so that people can have that become public property that people can use to access the water and the woods,” Blankenship explained.

Of the 27 line items for this year, 25 are actual projects and two are administrative fees for the last two years.

2023 State of Alabama Funded GoMESA Projects

•  Dauphin Island Beach Renourishment Engineering, Design and Permitting:           $1,250,000

•  Lewis Landing Public Access Mobile County:                                                          $1,500,000

•  Chocolatta Bay Boat Ramp Replacement Mobile Causeway:                                   $650,000

•  Cedar Point Boat Ramp Mobile County:                                                                 $4,300,000

•  Foley Nature Parks Expansion:                                                                                $5,000,000

•  The Launch at CR6 Boat Ramp Baldwin County:                                                    $4,820,000

•  Viewpoint Boat Ramp Improvement Weeks Bay:                                                    $1,678,800

•  Daphne Bayfront Park Amphitheater and Park Improvements:                               $7,200,000

•  Chickasaw Stormwater Management Improvements Phase I:                                 $2,474,500

•  Daphne Utilities Hwy 90 Force Main Stabilization:                                                  $187,500

•  Robertsdale Centennial Park Amphitheater:                                                            $2,000,000

•  Fairhope Magnolia Beach Renourishment:                                                              $620,000

•  Fairhope Fly Creek Stream Restoration Project:                                                       $2,740,000

•  Mobile County Water, Sewer, and Fire Septic to Sewer Project:                              $1,327,500

•  Chickasaw Brooks Park Public Access Phase II:                                                       $485,000

•  Dauphin Island Water and Sewer Rehabilitation Project:                                         $3,246,455

•  Port of Mobile Coastal Resiliency Study:                                                                  $200,000

•  Bartram and Perdido Canoe Trails Expansion:                                                          $1,906,000

•  USA Healthy Oceans Initiative Phase II:                                                                   $1,229,154

•  City of Mobile Hall’s Mill Creek Public Access Project:                                           $2,500,000

•  Perdido Watershed Land Acquisition Fund:                                                              $7,000,000

•  Spanish Fort Causeway Improvements:                                                                    $3,000,000

•  GoMESA 2023 Administration:                                                                                 $397,988

•  West Fowl River and Heron Bay Land Acquisition (4,740 acres):                             $5,214,000

•  Beach Club West Acquisition:                                                                                   $4,000,000

•  Mt. Vernon Boating Access Improvements:                                                              $2,000,000

•  GoMESA Administration 2022:                                                                                 $278,686

Total: $67,205,633

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