United States District Court, Washington, D.C., Civil Action 1:15-cv-00191.
The $85.5 million Gulf State Park Enhancement Project was among the first restoration projects approved under Alabama’s portion of early restoration funds made available by BP as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. The project had multiple parts but $58.5 million was to go towards the rebuilding of the Gulf State Park Lodge. Gulf Restoration Network filed suit against leaders of the Department of the Interior saying that using the money for a convention center rather than ecological restoration is a misuse of the funding. With the help of Robert Wiygul, the suit was successful and in February of this year federal judge, Charles Butler, blocked the use of these funds to build the lodge.