Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu is urging Senate colleagues from the Gulf Coast to snare no less than 80 percent of all penalties to be paid by BP PLC for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill for coastal restoration in their five states.

Landrieu began circulating her proposal, which is dubbed "Justice for the Gulf Coast," late yesterday among senators from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Landrieu hopes to deliver their signatures to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) by week's end.

"Justice for the Gulf Coast will require a significant amount of funding to ensure that this coastline is made sustainable and resilient in the face of future threats -- be they natural or manmade," Landrieu wrote.

So far, none of her colleagues have signed on.

President Obama called for a Gulf Coast Restoration Plan in his Oval Office address in June and has pledged a restoration effort to repair decades of damage caused by oil and gas production and channelization of the Mississippi River.

Barring a change in the oil spill law, penalties paid by BP PLC as a result of its fiasco would go to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for cleanups and claims related to future spills. Congressional appropriators would have to shift that money to pay for Gulf Coast restoration.

Last week, the House approved an amendment by Rep. Charles Melancon (D-La.) that would create a new Gulf of Mexico oil spill penalty of $200 million per 1 million barrels and divert the resulting sum, an estimated $1.2 billion, toward Gulf Coast restoration. (E&ENews PM, Aug. 2)

Landrieu's plan would go further, setting aside as much as $16 billion or more, provided that BP's federal fines are levied at the maximum, $4,300-per-barrel rate in cases involving "gross negligence." Landrieu floated a similarly ambitious plan earlier this summer, when she called for creating a new federal agency, funded to the tune of $1 billion per year, to carry out the restoration effort (E&E Daily, June 23)

Environmental groups say such a large sum is exactly what is needed.

"I think that Americans will want to see the money that comes out of the BP disaster go toward restoring the Gulf," said Paul Harrison of the Environmental Defense Fund. "This is a good opportunity to invest the money that will come in as a result of what happened to the Gulf into making it a healthy place. It's a good idea."