Groups to Louisiana Legislature: Ensure oil spill fines are used for coastal restoration
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Earlier this week, the Louisiana Legislature finalized passage of the 2012 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. This landmark document lays out a bold, science-based vision for restoring the state’s vanishing coastline. The suite of restoration projects included in the plan promises to ease and then reverse the state’s staggering land-loss rates over the course of 50 years. However, this aggressive undertaking is not inexpensive. Projected costs for the plan total some $50 billion. But the state has a lifeline in the …
Restoring the Lower 9th Ward: A resilient vision for New Orleans
This post was originally published on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog. By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation’s Coastal Louisiana Organizer in New Orleans What would you do if, in one day, you lost everything? I’m not just talking about your personal possessions; I’m talking about your entire community — your church, your grocery store, your school. The folks you meet in the video below, Warrenetta Banks and John Taylor, have lived out this scenario every day since Hurricane …
RESTORE Act passes with House transportation vote, now moves to conference
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives included Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) RESTORE Act amendment in their final version of the Surface Transportation Extension Act. The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the BP gulf oil spill towards Gulf Coast restoration. Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed versions of bill. The House passed the transportation bill by a vote of 293-127, setting up a …
Conservation Groups Laud Funding for Restoration Efforts from Senate
Federal funds will support critical restoration construction projects, jobs in Louisiana FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org Kevin Chandler, National Audubon Society, 202.596.0960, kchandler@audubon.org (Washington, D.C.—April 26, 2011) Today, five national and local conservation groups praised the Senate Appropriations Committee for approving funding for critical restoration projects in Louisiana, including an effort to use sediment dredged from navigation waterways to recreate critical wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would …
Two Years Later: Dolphins Struggling
Two years after the start of the BP oil spill, dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico are dying in unprecedented numbers. This month marks a record-shattering 26 consecutive months of above-average dolphin strandings. Only 5 percent of the stranded dolphins were recovered alive and their prognosis was usually poor. Share this photo on Facebook. Share this image on Twitter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently did an in-depth study of 32 dolphins in Barataria Bay, an area …
New NWF Report: A Degraded Gulf of Mexico
This story was originally posted by the National Wildlife Federation. Wildlife and Wetlands Two Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster By Jaclyn McDougal, National Wildlife Federation. As the two-year mark of the Deepwater Horizon blowout approaches, the National Wildlife Federation issued a new report today examining the health of the Gulf’s wildlife and wetlands. Impacts from the Gulf oil disaster will be unfolding for years, if not decades, and many species of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico will need …
Tagged Reports86% of Louisiana voters support adoption of 2012 Coastal Master Plan
Overwhelming majorities agree coast vital to future and can be saved (Baton Rouge, La.—April 3, 2012) Eighty-six percent of Louisiana voters say they want their legislators to approve the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, according to a new poll released today. The plan lays out a 50-year vision for protecting and restoring the coast, including increased hurricane risk reduction for coastal communities and reconnecting the Mississippi River with disappearing coastal wetlands. Overwhelming majorities of the voters surveyed in the poll …
What does the 90-day transportation bill extension mean for the RESTORE Act?
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund With a March 31 deadline quickly approaching, last Thursday (March 29), the U.S. House and Senate passed a 90-day extension to the surface transportation bill. This extension means we will need to continue working hard to ensure the RESTORE Act stays alive and is included in the final version of the bill. The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the gulf oil spill toward gulf environmental …
Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan moves on to state legislature for approval
By David Muth, National Wildlife Federation On March 21, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) unanimously adopted the revised Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, which lays out a 50-year restoration plan for Louisiana’s coast. The Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign has worked closely with the state in the development of the plan, and many of our recommendations for improving and strengthening the draft were adopted in the final version. One such recommendation made by our campaign was …
Dredging Contractors of America sends letter to Congress in support of the RESTORE Act
By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund Last week, the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), the national nonprofit trade association for the dredging industry, sent a letter to House leadership in support of the RESTORE Act — legislation that would ensure that oil spill fines are used for gulf restoration. “The RESTORE Act appropriately allocates 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties, as a result of the BP oil spill, to the five Gulf Coast states, and establishes an effective management and …
Hill ads praise 76 senators for passing gulf restoration amendment
Groups pledge to work with senators to ensure final passage of legislation News Release (Washington, D.C.—March 27, 2012) Capitol newspapers will run full-page color ads this week by six Gulf restoration advocacy groups thanking the 76 Senators who approved legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf. The ad copy says: “On behalf of our members nationwide, we thank the 76 Senate leaders who voted …
Gulf ads thank gulf senators for passing gulf restoration amendment
62 Gulf businesses, business groups, restoration advocacy groups sign ads News Release (Washington, D.C.—March 23, 2012) Five Gulf state newspapers will run full-page color ads starting today thanking the nine Gulf senators who recently voted in favor of legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf ecosystem and economy. The ads features a “thank you” from 62 Gulf businesses, business groups and restoration advocacy …
Final draft of the 2012 Coastal Master Plan approved by CPRA
This story was originally posted on the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana‘s Coast Currents blog. By Scott Madere, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana With a unanimous vote of its members, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) approved the final draft of the 2012 Coastal Master Plan at its March 21, 2012 meeting held at the Louisiana State Archives. The completed draft represents a milestone for Louisiana: a comprehensive science-based plan for coastal restoration and protection, built to …
Tagged ReportsNWF tour finds BP oil still soaking Louisiana marshes, menacing wildlife
This story was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation‘s Wildlife Promise blog. By Miles Grant, National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) this week led a boat trip to Louisiana marshes hit hard by the Gulf oil disaster. The trip made depressingly clear that while national attention has moved on and Congress still hasn’t passed legislation to restore the Gulf, much BP oil remains, it’s easy to find and it’s never far from the Gulf’s wildlife. The trip out of Myrtle Grove …
Only a piece of the pie: BP settles private claims, still in talks with government
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund Earlier this month, news broke that BP had settled its pending court case resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Perhaps the most important takeaway is that BP has still not settled its case for environmental violations with the U.S. government. The gulf oil spill caused disastrous effects on both the economy and environment of the Gulf Coast. The settlement reached addresses the economic and health-related claims brought against BP from private plaintiffs consisting …