Earlier this summer, President Obama signed into law the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act. The law requires 80% of funds resulting from Clean Water Act penalties against the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to be used for environmental and economic restoration of the Gulf Coast. According to Restore the Mississippi River Delta, this investment can be quadrupled in terms of economic benefits and job creation, particularly in infrastructure, restoration, tourism and fishing.

Restoring wetlands and other coastal ecosystems, such as oyster beds and coral reefs, can also provide cost-effective strategies for reducing the risk of flooding and severe storms, according to the 2012 World Risk Report (see Sec. 3.2 on Coastal Habitats and Risk Reduction).