Recap: Week Two of Phase II of BP Oil Spill Trial
← Older posts Newer posts →Recap: Week Two of Phase II of BP Oil Spill Trial
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund BP and the U.S. Department of Justice sparred in federal court this week over how much oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 87-day Gulf oil disaster during a part of the trial named the Quantification Segment. Last week, BP defended its multiple engineering attempts to stop the oil leak during the Source Control Segment. Both of these segments make up the second phase of trial, which was originally expected to last …
Treasury releases RESTORE Act regulations, restoration process advances
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund On September 6, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) proposed draft regulations for disbursing funds under the RESTORE Act. Treasury is responsible for developing compliance measures, an auditing process and guidelines for grant distribution under the law. The release of the regulations enables the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to advance some of its work, and the final regulations will outline the process for Gulf Coast states to acquire their RESTORE …
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council approves Initial Comprehensive Plan
By Estelle Robichaux, Environmental Defense Fund Last week, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council held a public meeting in New Orleans to vote on its Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy. The RESTORE Act, signed into law in July 2012, established the Council and tasked it with, among other duties, creating a long-term ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In his opening remarks, Louisiana Governor …
Wildlife tourism in Louisiana
This is the second post in a series about wildlife tourism and the Gulf Coast economy. By Will Lindsey and Rachel Schott, Environmental Defense Fund Datu Research LLC’s recently released report, “Wildlife Tourism and the Gulf Coast Economy,” shows how wildlife tourism is a vital component of the Gulf Coast economy and links the industry’s success to the health of the Gulf’s unique environment and ecosystems. Taking a closer look at the report allows one to see the full economic …
Tagged EconomicsStudy shows how coastal habitats help provide protection from storms, sea level rise
By Alisha Renfro, Coastal Scientist, National Wildlife Federation Coastal communities throughout the U.S. are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events. The conventional approach for protecting people and property along the coast has relied on engineering solutions such as levees, seawalls and bulkheads, which “harden” shorelines. However, not only can these structures be expensive to build and difficult to maintain, but in some cases, they can also increase erosion, impair the recreational uses of the area and …
Tagged ReportsKatrina and Isaac anniversaries remind us of urgent need for coastal restoration
By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation This week marks the anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. As we take time to remember and commemorate, we must also look to the future and commit to preparing for the next storm and protecting our communities. Even eight years after Katrina, it’s hard to forget the storms. Recovery and rebuilding remain an everyday reality in coastal Louisiana. Levees and home elevation are some of the more immediate ways to protect ourselves, but these …
A review of the RESTORE Council's Initial Comprehensive Plan
By Whit Remer and Elizabeth Weiner, Environmental Defense Fund Last week, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council released the “Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy” for implementing parts of the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act, which was enacted into law in 2012 in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council was created by the RESTORE Act and comprises officials from five Gulf Coast states and six federal agencies. The …
Tagged ReportsJoint Ocean Commission Initiative report underscores importance of coastal restoration
By Rachel Schott, Environmental Defense Fund In June, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, a bipartisan 16-member council representing diverse ocean interests, released a new report, “Charting the Course: Securing the Future of America’s Oceans.” The report outlines important ocean reform and coastal restoration recommendations for Congress and the Obama Administration. Being an “ocean nation,” the health of the U.S. economy is closely tied to health of its oceans. For Gulf Coast residents, this specifically means the Gulf of Mexico. The …
Tagged Economics, ReportsBP private claims appeal and ongoing litigation: What does it mean?
By Mordechai Treiger and Will Lindsey, Environmental Defense Fund Three years after the Macondo oil well was capped off the coast of Louisiana, BP is still making headlines as it works to resolve legal claims stemming from the incident. As legal interns who have spent the past ten weeks working every day on issues related to the oil spill, even we sometimes find BP’s various legal obligations somewhat confusing. So we put together this brief outline to help ourselves keep …
Profiles in Coastal Restoration: HESCO Bastion
By Will Lindsey, Environmental Defense Fund Louisiana-based company HESCO Bastion Environmental, Inc. is at the forefront of business innovations in response to the growing market for coastal restoration projects. Finding new uses for established products, the company is now involved in creating artificial oyster reefs and protective structures for wetlands. This arena of work is expected to expand and create more jobs in coastal communities as the RESTORE Act funds and other monies from the BP oil spill begin to …
New oil spill money released for Gulf Coast restoration
By Mordechai Treiger, Environmental Defense Fund Last month, Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident announced Phase III of their Early Restoration efforts. The NRDA Trustees include representatives from the five Gulf Coast states and four federal agencies who are charged with assessing damage to natural resources, such as marshes, sea grasses, birds and marine mammals, stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Phase III represents the largest collection of NRDA proposals to date, encompassing 28 proposals …
Take action: Tell the RESTORE Council to prioritize ecosystem restoration
By Rachel Schott, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign The period to publicly comment on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s Draft Initial Comprehensive Plan ends soon, and we need you to submit your public comments to ensure the Council’s plan prioritizes environmental restoration. Per the RESTORE Act enacted in 2012, the Council is tasked with distributing BP oil spill funds across the five Gulf Coast states for restoration. However, many important decisions regarding spending and projects have yet to be …
Forty Thousand-Pound Tar Mat Discovered on Louisiana Barrier Island
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Erin Greeson, National Audubon Society, 503.913.8978, egreeson@audubon.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org Forty Thousand-Pound Tar Mat Discovered on Louisiana Barrier Island Effects of 2010 Gulf oil disaster still evident more than three years later (New Orleans—June 26, 2013) Recent news reports have confirmed the discovery of a massive 40,000-pound tar mat directly offshore of Grand Terre, a barrier island about 90 miles south of New Orleans. This announcement comes …
Senate hearing reviews Gulf Coast oil spill restoration efforts
By Will Lindsey, Environmental Defense Fund The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing Thursday (June 6) to review the progress that has been made to restore the Gulf Coast since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) chaired the hearing, titled “Gulf Restoration: A Progress Report Three Years after the Deepwater Horizon Disaster.” The hearing came nearly a year after passage of the RESTORE Act, legislation that allocates …
Hurricane Season 2013: Let’s prepare our coast!
By Rachel Schott, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign Preparation for hurricane season is second nature to most Louisianans. From gathering supplies to boarding up windows to mapping out evacuation routes, coastal residents acknowledge their tenuous positioning on the Gulf and the uncertain weather conditions that come from June to November. Yet with all this preparation, a question remains: Is the Louisiana coast as prepared as its residents? With the beginning of another hurricane season, the need for restoring the Mississippi River Delta …