Legend:

 = Bucket 1      = Bucket 2      = Bucket 3      = Bucket 5    


Bucket 1 - 2019

Lower San Bernard River Ecosystem Restoration Project

County: Brazoria

Funding Awarded:
$10,766,000

Project Description:
This is an ecosystem restoration project which will restore the historical flow of the
San Bernard River to the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed project is to open the mouth of the San
Bernard River via dredging the currently silted in channel and river outlet to the Gulf to
reestablish normal river flow. The mouth of the San Bernard is currently silted shut which is
effecting the lower San Bernard River’s ecosystem by impeding normal drainage flow, water
quality, sediment transfer rate, and aquatic ecosystem. The closure is also leading to a
degradation of the fresh and saltwater marsh system in the region to include areas within the
USFWS San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s
Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area. Extensive hydrodynamic modeling of the river and the
offshore area in the vicinity of the old river opening have been completed. Preliminary
Engineering of the new channel and a project opinion of cost is also complete. Permitting with
USACE and the Texas General Land Office is also underway and is expected to be complete
within the next 6-9 months. The San Bernard Wildlife Refuge has agreed to take all of the
dredge material generated from this project to be used beneficially for marsh creation, the
restoration of critical piping plover habitat and to counter the effects of regional subsidence.
The opening of the river provides numerous second and third order economic benefits to the
state and the nation. During high water events with the river mouth closed, the river water
backs up the river and into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). This creates a flooding
hazard for the citizens who live along the river and an unnatural current along the GIWW. The
current impedes the ability of barges to safely navigate this portion of the GIWW. This
unnatural current also causes more sediment to move along the GIWW causing increased
siltation in the vicinity of the US Army Corps of Engineers Brazos River Flood Gates Project and
in the deep draft channel at Port Freeport. This increased sediment costs USACE, the federal
government, the port and private industry millions of dollars in unnecessary dredging costs
each year. Restoring the flow to the San Bernard River provides a multitude of benefits for
threatened and endangered species habitat, essential fish habitat, as well as improving the
overall environmental and economic health of the Texas coastal estuary system.

Bucket 1 - 2020

Raymondville Drain Project Phase 2 - Restoring Drainage and Flood Control

County: Willacy

Funding Awarded:
$7,000,000

Project Description:
The Raymondville Drain Project will provide a permanent solution to regional flooding by providing 100-year storm protection to watersheds of 3 counties in the Gulf Coast Region: Hidalgo County, Cameron County, and Willacy County. As such, this project is critical (1) to provide the community resiliency the region needs, (2) to produce economic growth, and (3) to safeguard the environment.

Shamrock Island Restoration Phase II

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$1,085,699

Project Description:
This restoration project will include two components consisting of repairing the north breach site, and installing a beach feeder mound to nourish the south breach. The goal of this restoration project is to help protect Shamrock Island which is located within Corpus Christi Bay, Texas.

Texas City Hurricane Protection Levee Repair Project

County: Galveston

Funding Awarded:
$6,528,960

Project Description:
This project will address the deficiencies listed in 2012 Corps of Engineers inspection report and will include construction activities to protect the businesses and residents of the surrounding area from flooding during extreme weather events while simultaneously protecting acquatic habitat in Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico from potentially hazardous chemicals.

Town Resaca Watershed Restoration Project

County: Cameron

Funding Awarded:
$4,680,939

Project Description:
Restore over 86-acres of critical aquatic and riparian habitat within the watershed. Improve water quality in the resacas, and as an extension water quality in the Brownsville Ship Channel and Lower Laguna Madre. Improvements in water quality will positively impact both wildlife and the public who enjoy recreational activities along the resacas and in the coastal waterways of the Lower Laguna Madre. Improve community resiliency and economic vitality by increasing the capacity and efficiency of the primary drainage conduit in downtown Brownsville. This project will both increase the capacity of the infrastructure used to drain storm water away from the City and improve the overall efficiency of the existing infrastructure.

Bay Shore Drive Erosion Mitigation and Shoreline Stabilization

County: Aransas

Funding Awarded:
$2,400,000

Project Description:
This project proposes to construct and repair rock revetments and groins along the Aransas Bay shoreline to protect the public roadway while enhancing marine life habitat and public recreational activities.

Salt Bayou Watershed

County: Chambers, Jefferson, Orange

Funding Awarded:
$10,000,000

Project Description:
Complete restoration of a beach and dune ridge along the shorelines of the McFAddin National Wildlife refuge (NWR). The proposed project augments larger efforts
towards a comprehensive plan to protect the largest freshwater marsh in Texas. This
marsh supports an extensive array of fish and wildlife species and resources injured by
the spill and protects economic, and energy, as encouraged by Congress in the RESTORE
Act. A Salt Bayou Watershed Plan was established in 2000 to discuss restoration of the
marsh ecosystem. This project directly targets unprecedented erosion along the
3 of 109
McFaddin NWR shoreline and subsequent conversion of wetland into open water by
utilizing beach quality dredged sand to restore approximately 17 miles of beach and
dune ridge and protect approximately 62,000 acres of marsh land from salt water
intrusion.

Bucket 1 - 2021

Laguna Madre Public Access, Active Education, Conservation, and Tourism Initiative, Project 1 of 3 : Laguna Madre Boat Ramp

County: Cameron

Funding Awarded:
$1,869,290

Project Description:
The Laguna Madre Boat Ramp Project will guarantee public access to the Laguna by acquisition of land and construction of a new public boat ramp with dedicated public parking. The boat ramp will also serve as one of three new kayak launch sites and allow for the creation of the integrated “Discover the Laguna Kayak Trail,” linking the three PACT Initiative sites and further promoting public access to the Laguna Madre. Finally, through the project’s public education components, the project will help reduce boater impacts to sensitive habitats, especially seagrasses, and thereby even help endangered Green Sea Turtles, birds, fish and other species by reducing impacts to ecologically important seagrass habitat upon which they rely.


Galveston Beneficial Dredge Project

County: Galveston

Funding Awarded:
$9,030,000

Project Description:
For Galveston, which is considered a “sand limited” system with a minimal supply of new sand, the project is an essential strategy for addressing quickly eroding beaches through the beneficial use of dredge material. This method was identified as a principal strategy in Galveston’s 2013 “50 Year Sand Management Plan” developed in a partnership of the Galveston Park Board, City of Galveston and the Engineering, Research and Design Center of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Workforce and Economic Development to Enhance Sustainable Offshore Energy Systems in the Gulf of Mexico

County: Coast wide

Funding Awarded:
$7,951,398

Project Description:
Workforce and Economic Development to Enhance Sustainable Offshore Energy Systems in the Gulf of Mexico project will promote the safe and efficient exploitation of offshore resources through increased skill sets across the workforce aligned with the development and deployment of new technologies with focus in workforce and economic development, job creation through the medium of technology development and the establishment of workforce and entrepreneurship training programs that support safety and risk management, and the skill sets for the safe operation of evolving new technologies and their field scale implementation.

East End Lagoon Phase 1-A Project

County: Galveston

Funding Awarded:
$1,869,290

Project Description:
The East End Lagoon (EEL) Park and Preserve is designed to safeguard and make publicly accessible the most ecologically significant parcel of undeveloped land remaining on Galveston Island.

Sea Turtle Incorporated Education Complex

County: Cameron

Funding Awarded:
$659,000

Project Description:
In 2010, the unforeseen catastrophe may have happened with the Deep Horizon spill. Nesting activity in Mexico and Texas dropped significantly in 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The Kemp's ridley Recovery Team has theories on whether the population will rebound quickly or if conservation groups like Sea Turtle Inc. will have to continue their efforts with a greatly reduced population. The critical components of conservation efforts are: nest protection, responsible fishing practices, and public education to foster support/funding.
Sea Turtle Inc. (STI), a non-profit 501 (c) (3), has been providing critical public education since 1977 and nest conservation since 1999. Today, we provide education to millions through social media and visitors to our South Padre Island rehabilitation center. At STI, we provide important education about sea turtles and the marine environment. Our existing facility is inadequate for the number of tourists we see annually and the number of injured sea turtles we treat. In 2011, we purchased a 5 acre lot to construct a state-of-the-art educational complex. This will enable STI to be the premier sea turtle destination for Texas and create even more public support for Kemp's ridley conservation and other Gulf of Mexico sea turtle species. The Kemp's ridley has been identified as a species affected by the BP oil spill, and Sea Turtle Inc. provides a critical component of conservation in public education to millions of people.

Quintana Beach Public Fishing Pier Restoration

County: Brazoria

Funding Awarded:
$2,237,000

Project Description:
The Quintana Beach Public Fishing Pier was constructed in 1987 and is a Brazoria County public recreation and education facility that is owned, operated, and maintained by the Brazoria County Parks Department.

Bucket 1 - 2022

E.K. Atwood Park Pavilion Improvements Project

County: Cameron

Funding Awarded:
$3,350,000

Project Description:
The E.K. Atwood Park Pavilion (EKAPP) is located at Cameron County Beach Access No. 5, about a mile north of the South Padre Island city limits and just south of the intersection of the proposed second bridge connecting South Padre Island to mainland Cameron County.

Bucket 1 - 2023

Texas Gulf Shrimp Consumption, Tourism and Marketing Proposal

County: Coast wide

Funding Awarded:
$5,157,377

Project Description:
As a result of catastrophic events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Harvey, and seasonal variability in rainfall, yields from the Texas oyster fishery have been historically unpredictable. Unlike some species, oysters have little means of avoiding change in their environment.
In 2014, Texas produced approximately one-fourth of the Gulf oyster harvest, approximately 6 million lbs of meat with a value of $19 M and a major economic driver for coastal communities. In 2016, the yield had dropped to 2.9 million lbs (2015 = 1.59 Mlbs, $8.25M), with a value of $15.9 M (NMFS data). Apart from their value as a fishery resource, oysters also provide benefit as the major habitat for sport fish, supporting an industry with $2.1 B in retail sales, creating some 29,000 jobs. Oysters and oyster reefs also perform valuable ecosystem services for coastal Texas, such as removal of nitrogen ($3,500/acre/yr), stabilization of shorelines ($35,000/acre/year), and enhancement of commercial
fishing ($2,400/acre/yr). Due to persistent vulnerability and contribution to our coastal economy, a strong need exists to ensure the continued benefits and services provided by this valuable resource. One means of ensuring availability of oysters from Texas waters is predictable production via managed aquaculture, an activity every coastal state except Texas engages in and which represents a $280 M per year industry to our country. With the passage of new legislation, Texas will be initiating commercial
oyster aquaculture in September 2020. Texas, unlike many other states, has extensive areas within bays, suitable for rapid expansion of the industry. The success of this new industry in Texas will be further insured via development of a trained workforce.

Bucket 2 - 2016

Texas Beneficial Use/Marsh Restoration

County: Galveston, Jefferson, Orange

Funding Awarded:
$948,000

Project Description:
The State of Texas Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (BUDM), Project Design Fund Phase I project is located in Orange, Jefferson and Galveston Counties Texas. It will facilitate BUDM through careful site selection, survey data collection, preparation of engineering and design plans, environmental compliance and permitting. The primary goal is to create shovel-ready restoration sites that, when fully implemented, will transform areas that have subsided into open waters back to tidally influenced coastal wetlands.

Matagorda Bay System Priority Landscape Conservation

County: Brazoria, Matagorda

Funding Awarded:
$6,012,000

Project Description:
Matagorda Bay System Priority Landscape Conservation Project aims to conserve strategic lands adjacent to the Matagorda Bay/San Antonio Bay complex to help ensure long-term native diversity, productivity and resiliency of the entire bay estuary complex. In this activity, the State of Texas is expected to acquire approximately 6,500 plus acres of high quality coastal habitats including emergent marshes, tidal flats, lagoons and coastal prairie with several miles of frontage on the Matagorda Bay system.

Bayou Greenways

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$7,109,000

Project Description:
The Houston Parks Board, subrecipient for the project, aims to purchase 80 to 100 acres of land in Clear Creek Greenway, and transfer to the City of Houston, as part of the larger Bayou Greenways initiative to acquire and preserve nearly 4,000 acres of riparian buffer corridors along major waterways, (bayous and creeks) running predominately through Harris County and the City of Houston.

Bahia Grande Coastal Corridor (BGCC) (Implementation)

County: Cameron

Funding Awarded:
$4,378,500

Project Description:
Three properties totaling approximately 1,998 acres were purchased by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Two of the properties (1,820 acres) were purchased with RESTORE funds. An additional 178-acre tract was purchased with RESTORE funds as well as private funds from the Knobloch Foundation. The added properties will be a corridor of conservation lands that include the Laguna Atascosa and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. These properties are expected to ultimately be held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and become part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

Bucket 2 - 2018

Coastal Restoration Planning

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$641,448

Project Description:
Perform various activities to ensure the broad base compilation of information to assist in prioritizing framework/focus areas, developing large-scale projects consistent with those priorities and creating a 10-year strategy. Collaboration, coordination and active public engagement are all essential elements to a successful process to determine the best utilization of RESTORE Bucket 2 funds. To coordinate and collaborate with Texas coastal experts, including Non-governmental entities (NGOs), elected officials, representatives for NRDA and NFWF, the four Gulf states, federal entities and the public to address the requirements of the RESTORE Act Council-Selected Restoration Component and the commitments of the Comprehensive Plan update in 2016. These coordination and collaboration activities will support the effort to determine the needs of the coastal area; identify project/proposals for the upcoming Funded Priority Lists (FPLs); and using the best available science to set up the foundation for successful long-term restoration projects.

Bucket 5 - 2016

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Subsea Energy Applications

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$100,000

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to develop an AUV prototype that will be highly maneuverable in tight spaces, can hold station vertically, can perform docking, and will be capable of autonomous manipulation.

Marine Drilling Hazard Mitigation and Production Facility Monitoring using Seismic Sonar Imaging

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$109,869

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to develop a proof-of-concept monitoring system for the early detection and assessment of drilling or production problems.

Environmental, Human Health, and Safety

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$474,040

Project Description:
The Environment, Human Health & Safety Program will create an infrastructure to support disaster research response encompassing both environmental, human health and economic assessment capabilities that can be employed rapidly to assess the impact of disasters along the Texas Gulf coast in real-time.

Strategic Research and Action Plan

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$139,041

Project Description:
The Strategic Research and Action Plan (SRAP) is a foundational element of establishing Texas OneGulf Center of Excellence as a unifying research entity for Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

A Model-Based Real-Time Annular HOP Monitoring System

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$175,130

Project Description:
This proposal is a collaboration between the SSI, the University Of Houston, and Rice University focusing on real-time health and risk assessment (collectively called monitoring) of annular blowout preventers (BOPs).

Remote High Power for Subsea Emergencies

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$300,000

Project Description:
Develop a combination of two new technologies using batteries and high power supereapacitors. The batteries provide the trickle charge to the high power supercapacitors which provide the necessary power to activate the blind shear ram.

Bucket 5 - 2017

Hazard Mitigation and Facility Monitoring Program: Fiber-Optic Seismic Systems

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$298,001

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is too utilize the result of the Phase 1 work and further the fiber-optics Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) work within the Hazard Mitigation and Facility Monitoring Program by exploring the use of this fiber-optics system for monitoring fluid flow in pipes and detect seismic waves from active and passive marine sources.

Stress Wave Assisted Communications in Subsea Environments

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$300,000

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to develop a novel stress waved based communication method for subsea applications.

Bucket 5 - 2018

Remote Robotics for Unmanned Human Environments

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$823,000

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to increase the ability of robotic assets to manage the physical operations and necessary tasks on oil production platforms. The specific technical objective is to advance the autonomous skills of NASAs dexterous robots with capabilities to perform identified remote tasks.

Stakeholder Communication and Engagement Plan

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$94,759

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to develop a communication and engagement plan to help Texas OneGulf interact effectively with Gulf of Mexico policy- and decision-makers, as well as other stakeholder groups.

Bucket 5 - 2019

Flexible Low-Temperature Lithium Ion Batteris for Subsea Applications

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$39,997

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to design and fabricate polymer-based flexible and safe lithium ion batteries able to operate under subsea conditions.

Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring and Assessment Plan for Texas Estuaries

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$217,501

Project Description:
This project is for a harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring and assessment plan for Texas estuaries.

Hurricane Harvey Decision-Support - Resilient Environments and Communities

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$470,265

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to develop both an understanding of how environmental, human an public health, economic assessment interrelate in a disaster context, and how TONE can be better leveraged to activate a Research Response Plan in the future, to collect and provide critical information to decision-makers.

SmartTouch: Towards Autonomous Subsea Robotics for Underwater Pipeline Inspection

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$40,000

Project Description:
Autonomous Subsea Robotics for Underwater Pipeline Inspection project. This project will develop transformative robotic and SmartTouch sensing technology, that will lead to a time efficient and cost-effective system for underwater pipeline inspection.


Bucket 5 - 2021

High-Energy and High-Power Quasi-Solid-State Lithium Batteries for Subsea Applications

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$107,650

Project Description:
Focus on quasi-solid composites which constitute a new class of electrolytes and are formed by the combination of ceramic nanomaterials and high-boiling point organic solvents and room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). Such an electrolyte system allows us to utilize high energy density metallic lithium as the anode without compromising on safety. This proposal will unveil the compatibility of quasi-solid-state electrolytes with high-capacity cathode materials such as LiNixCoyAlzO2 or LiNixCoyMnzO2 (with x + y + z = 1). Surface modification of these cathode particles and the interface stabilization for a wide range of temperatures will be the highest priority.

Sensors Based on Organic Electrochemical Transistors (OECTs) for Deep Sea Leakage and Chemical Detection

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$127,191

Project Description:
Design, fabricate, and model compact and autonomous chemical sensors for early detection of leakages and spills in subsea conditions. The sensors will be based on organic thin film transistors (TFTs) and organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) interfaced with a molecularly imprinted polymer layer (MIP), and will be designed to enable real-time detection of specific chemicals in the environment that indicate a leak or spill.

Geospatial Framework and Analysis for Coastal Resilience, South Texas Coastal Bend

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$432,574

Project Description:
Assess key “direct impacts” on assets such as critical facilities, commercial and industrial property, economic development sites, and natural assets by spatially distinct threats such as stormwater flooding, riverine flooding, sea level rise, and storm surge for Nueces, Kleberg and Kenedy Counties. Build a tailored viewer website to host these data as GIS layers through an open-access web-based planning tool that incorporates assessments into desktop projects and provides a basis for a common operating picture for the three communities, with potential for additional communities and enhanced functionality. Data should be housed in the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) for long-term accessibility.

General Operations of the OneGulf Center of Excellence

County: Nueces

Funding Awarded:
$427,585

Project Description:
Setup up operational and administrative section of the OneGulf Center of Excellence. Continue to develop a fully functioning Center of Excellence that builds on existing strengths, reduces duplication of effort, and promotes collaborative, interdisciplinary research, synthesis and problem-solving action focused on the Gulf of Mexico. A key component of this objective will be to manage the Texas OneGulf Network of Experts (TONE), which continues to develop its capabilities as a trusted source of scientific information about the Gulf of Mexico. The TONE currently numbers 153 experts from across the nine Texas OneGulf member institutions. The TONE is organized by member expertise as it relates to the disciplines outlined in section 1605 of the RESTORE Act. Executive Management will also manage advisory groups for Texas OneGulf, including the Texas OneGulf Consortium Leadership (TOCL) and Texas OneGulf Agency Council (TOAC).

Asset Integrity of Valves and Bolted Connections

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$139,500

Project Description:
This project will conduct the feasibility study of percussion approach to subsea connection inspection. Since the Grayloc clamp connectors with the advantages of compact design are commonly used in process, in this research, both flange type and Grayloc connections under the submerged condition will be experimentally studied for the feasibility study.

Developing Bio-Inspired Buoyancy Control for Subsea Service AUVs

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$128,264

Project Description:
RESTORE Grant 650120 Subsea Systems Institute Center of Excellence Developing Bio-Inspired Buoyancy Control for Subsea Service AUVs project will explore how catalytic conversion based around fuel cells and water electrolyzers could be used for liquid-gas transformation. Fuel cells and water electrolyzers are envisioned to be reversible volume-mass plants housed inside UAVs. Controlling the reaction direction of electrolysis in fuel cells and water electrolyzers would lead to a liquid-gas transformation, which would eventually enable distributed control of mass-volume of the AUV leading to a new paradigm of buoyancy control. The project will determine if the combination of the traditional thruster/ballast mechanism for gross buoyancy and motion, and the proposed soft robotics mechanism (fuel cells/water electrolyzers) for distributed buoyancy provides AUV's with additional capabilities.

High Accuracy Localization and Underwater Communication

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$139,500

Project Description:
RESTORE Grant 650120 Subsea Institute Center of Excellence High Accuracy Localization and Underwater Communication project will focus on magnetic induction for high-accuracy, short range, non-optical localization for remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV), and in conjunction with acoustic modems to optimize communications between a maneuvering AUV and a sensor buoy.

Multi-Port Energy Router Using Intelligent Transformers (MERIT) to Interconnect Renewable Resources and Subsea Oil & Gas Factories via HVDC Link

County: Harris

Funding Awarded:
$139,500

Project Description:
The overarching aim of the proposed project is to explore and develop a system of Multiport Energy Routers using Intelligent Transformers (MERIT) to interface renewable resources and subsea oil and gas (O&G) factories with the High Voltage DC, ‘HVDC’ (or Medium Voltage DC, ‘MVDC’) Grid. This research intends to advance the state-of-the-art power converter hardware and control technologies to enable seamless energy transfer between offshore renewable energy sources, subsea loads (such as in O&G factories) and the DC grid to improve the system efficiency, reliability and availability. The project will also evaluate the integration of fault current limiters
including the possibility of adding resistive superconducting fault current limiter (R-SFCL) in series with hybrid DC circuit breakers (HCBs) to lower the high fault current to such a level where circuit breakers can operate safely.

General Operations of the Center of Excellence

County: Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, San Patricio, Willacy, Victoria, Coast wide, Gulf wide

Funding Awarded:
$490,022

Project Description:
RESTORE Act Funding for SSI Operational and Administrative Section: Set up operational and administrative section including a high quality and lean operation of the SSI Center of Excellence, a volunteer Technical Advisory Committee of experts from industry employed to ensure quality assurance of the process, deadlines established within the plan of work to allow time to review both the methods under which the center is operated and the findings before final reports are due and computers used for handling the center operations and preparing reports are backed-up nightly and protected by Tivoli Service Manager.