Latest Mississippi River Delta News: July 26, 2013

07.26.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

Gulf oil spill: Halliburton to plead guilty to destroying evidence
By Stephen Mufson. The Guardian. July 26, 2013.
“Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the US department of justice said on Thursday.  The government said Halliburton’s guilty plea was the third by a company over the spill and would require the world’s second-largest oilfield services company to pay a maximum US$200,000 statutory fine…” (Read more).

‘Jackpot justice’ is bad for Louisiana businesses
Opinion by Jay Timmons and Dan Juneau. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). July 26, 2013.
“The United States leads the world in a number of categories. While most of our achievements are worth celebrating, others are not. We have the highest corporate tax rate among industrialized nations, with a top rate of 35 percent. And we’ve earned another dubious distinction: Our legal system is the world’s costliest…” (Read more).

History shows industry got a free ride
By Stephanie Grace. The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). July 25, 2013.
“It wasn’t a huge story at the time, but about seven years ago, something unusual happened, at least for Louisiana.  Asked to OK locally based McMoRan Exploration Co.’s plan to build a $1 billion open-loop liquified natural gas port off the coast, a project that environmentalists feared might harm the state’s fisheries, then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco said no…” (Read more).

Lawsuit against oil and gas giants is a call to arms for Louisiana
Opinion by Jarvis DeBerry. The Times Picayune (New Orleans, La.). July 25, 2013.
“It’s been a real long time since “Louisiana 1927.” Even so, the song’s refrain — “They’re trying to wash us away. They’re trying to wash us away.” — seems as relevant now as the time 86 years ago when New Orleans’ unelected elite let loose the Mississippi River on St. Bernard Parish…” (Read more).

New BP ad suggests it’s the victim in the oil spill fallout
By Harry Weber. FuelFix – The Houston Chronicle. July 25, 2013.
“BP published a new advertisement Thursday in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal suggesting  it’s a victim of trial lawyers seeking a big windfall — an unfair one, in the company’s view.  The headline at the top of the ad states, “Business Leaders Agree: What’s Happening to BP is Bad for American Business’…” (Read more).

Natural habitats give important protection
By Nikki Buskey. Houma Courier (Houma, La.). July 25, 2013.
“A new study found that natural habitats such as wetlands, barrier islands, dunes and oyster reefs are critical to protecting millions of U.S. coastal residents and their properties from devastation by storms.  The value of natural landscapes is something southern Louisiana…” (Read more).

Industry legally obligated to help fix coast
Opinion by John Barry. The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). July 25, 2013.
“After Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to allow the creation of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, the board which oversees levee districts protecting the east bank of the greater New Orleans area…” (Read more).

New Orleans, coastal lawmakers outspoken on levee board suit
By Lauren McGaughy. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). July 25, 2013.
“While Louisiana’s congressional delegation sought to remain largely neutral on the suit filed Wednesday by the East Bank levee authority against a slew of oil, gas and pipeline companies, state lawmakers were more eager to take sides on the issue. From cautiously supportive to deeply critical…” (Read more).

Drilling rig in Gulf of Mexico no longer on fire; no oil spotted in water
Associated Press. July 25, 2013.
“A drilling rig that caught fire after a natural gas blowout in the Gulf of Mexico appears stable now that the fire is out, and there was no sign of any oil sheen on a fly-over Thursday morning, a rig company executive said.  “The well essentially snuffed itself out,” said Jim Noe, a vice president…” (Read more).

Progress made in restoring 1,200 acres of coastal marsh near Myrtle Grove
By Rob Masson. WVUE, Fox 8 News (New Orleans, La.). July 24, 2013.
“Plaquemines Parish, La. – State and federal coastal experts showed off on Wednesday the latest jewel in a crown of projects designed to counteract the ravages of coastal erosion.  The state’s newest land mass is now growing at the rate of an acre a day, below Myrtle Grove…” (Read more).