BATON ROUGE - The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council has approved $52.2 million in Deepwater Horizon project money for coastal restoration projects. 

News outlets report that the federal-state Restore Act council approved the funds Wednesday for six coastal restoration projects and a study of the lower Mississippi River in Louisiana.

The money comes from Clean Water Act fines paid by Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded during the BP oil spill disaster in 2010.

Most of the projects included in the initial list will go toward planning, engineering and design, but the money will help advance shoreline protection, backfilling of oil and gas canals, and marsh creation projects in south Louisiana.

Environmental groups released a joint statement praising the list while giving their recommendations for the future.