WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - New funding from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be used in Wakulla County to focus on boosting the economy and bringing new jobs to the area.
Monday night, the board of commissioners added two new projects to the $600 million grant.
Both will be geared toward improving Wakulla's oyster industry, which has suffered from the oil spill. Funding will be used to train people to grow shell fish crops, ranch oysters and use the necessary equipment.
"We have discovered that you can grow oysters in the water column through the aquaculture," said Commissioner Chuck Hess, the chairman of the Wakulla County board of commissioners. "So these two programs were to build a hatchery and the other facilities that are necessary to expand our aquaculture program."
The grant will also go toward building a new library, which will also serve as a shelter for category 4 hurricanes. In addition, the county will replace their outdated, first responder communication system.
