Latest Mississippi River Delta news: October 12, 2012

West Bay diversion wins reprieve from federal-state coastal restoration task force
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Oct. 11, 2011.
“The controversial West Bay sediment and freshwater diversion near the mouth of the Mississippi River will stay open for at least another 10 years, a federal-state coastal restoration task force decided Thursday. The decision reverses a 2008 order to close the 200-yard-wide, 90-foot-deep gap in the western bank of the river…” (Read more)

Gulf Oil Sheen Blamed on 2010 Wreckage, Not Well
By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press. Oct. 12, 2012.
“Federal scientists and BP say oil appears to have leaked last month from the drilling wreckage lying at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near where a BP well blew out in 2010, causing the nation’s worst offshore spill…” (Read more)

RESTORE Act Funds, Which Would Help Fix Gulf Oil Damage, Now in Jeopardy
By Bob Marshall, Field and Stream. Oct. 11, 2012.
“Were celebrations about passage of the RESTORE Act in June premature?

That question, which some veteran conservationists asked when the bill was passed in June, is beginning to grow after recent news accounts suggest the direction and tenor of negotiations between oil giant BP and the U.S. Justice Department are changing…” (Read more)

Slick Complicates BP Liability Talks
By Daniel Gilbert and Ana Campoy, The Wall Street Journal. Oct. 11, 2012.
“HOUSTON—As U.S. officials and BP PLC negotiate to resolve the company’s liability for the Deepwater Horizon spill, some local and state elected officials are citing a newly discovered oil slick as evidence that the full impact of the 2010 accident remains unclear…” (Read more)

BP says new oil sheen in Gulf likely came from leak in bent riser pipe
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Oct. 11, 2012.
“A sheen recently spotted near the site of the massive BP Gulf spill was likely caused by oil that escaped from a bent riser pipe that once connected the Deepwater Horizon rig to the well head near the Gulf floor, company officials said Thursday. The Coast Guard took samples from the sheen and found that they matched the oil that was released during the tragic 2010 spill, but officials did not pinpoint the exact source…” (Read more)

Task force agrees to keep West Bay project open
By Amy Wold, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate. Oct. 11, 2012.
“NEW ORLEANS — A federal-state coastal restoration task force voted Wednesday to rescind its 2010 decision to close the West Bay diversion coastal restoration project in lower Plaquemines Parish…” (Read more)

Alabama officials vow to fight BP settlement
By George Talbot, The (Mobile) Press-Register. Oct. 11, 2012.
“GULF SHORES – Alabama political leaders today vowed to fight any deal between the U.S. Department of Justice and BP that would shift control of fine money from the 2010 oil spill to the federal government, away from the Gulf Coast states harmed by the catastrophe…” (Read more)

New Orleans Limits Hurricane-Themed Excursions
By Robbie Brown, The New York Times. Oct. 11, 2012.
“The lumbering buses that carry camera-wielding tourists through New Orleans still stop at Bourbon Street’s bars, Jackson Square’s cathedral and the Garden District’s mansions.

But one destination is now largely off limits: the Lower Ninth Ward, where Hurricane Katrina inflicted its worst havoc and the recovery has been slowest…” (Read more)

Vitter, Jindal accuse Obama of double standard on hurricane assistance
By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Oct. 11, 2012.
“WASHINGTON — Some Louisiana Republicans are accusing President Barack Obama of a double standard for criticizing the Bush administration’s initial refusal to waive matching fund requirements for Hurricane Katrina assistance while resisting calls to do the same for communities affected by Hurricane Isaac…” (Read more)

State to launch official “Louisiana Certified Seafood” brand
Press Release, The Advertiser (Lafayette, La.). Oct. 11, 2012.
“The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, LSU AgCenter, Louisiana SeaGrant, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and fisheries industry leaders, launched the Louisiana Certified Seafood Program this week…” (Read more)

Hurricane Isaac recovery discussed at Plaquemines Parish Council meeting
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune. Oct. 11, 2012.
“Discussing post-Hurricane Isaac recovery efforts, the Plaquemines Parish Council heard from residents on Thursday afternoon who pleaded for unity between the administration and the council, cutting down bureaucratic red tape for needed debris cleanup, and for an extension on FEMA temporary housing assistance…” (Read more)