Oil and gas royalty revenue soon may start to flow to four Gulf Coast states to aid plans to protect or restore their coastal areas. A 2006 statute directed that the four states and their political subdivisions would divide three-eighths of total revenue from certain offshore oil and gas leases, from fiscal 2007 through 2016. Funds will go for regional environmental restoration.

The Interior Dept.’s Minerals Mangement Service published a proposed rule on May 27 listing the program’s fiscal 2008’s allocations. MMS proposed that Louisiana would get 32% of the sum available to Gulf states, Alabama 30%, Mississippi 27% and Texas 11%. If the proposal becomes final, the states would split $24.3 million from a March 19 lease sale. It is the only fiscal 2008 sale to which the plan would apply.