By Benjamin Leger, The Lens contributing writer

The $1 billion fund set up by BP is supposed to pay for restoration of natural resources damaged by last year’s Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history. But a coalition has come forward with a report concerned that without greater transparency and public input, the money will be misused.
Alabama’s wish list includes a beachside parking lot and a new police station. Mississippi wants a tourist-friendly aquarium and a storage facility for boats. Texas officials would use old oil platforms to build artificial reefs with its share of the $1 billion restitution fund BP has set up.