Latest Mississippi River Delta News: December 5, 2012
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Thriving on a Sinking Landscape NOAA ClimateWatch Magazine. November 29, 2012. “If you locate South Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, on a map or a satellite image, you’ll see two distinct ribbons that weave their way toward the Gulf of Mexico…” (Read more) Scientists still learning from Deepwater Horizon disaster By Craig Pittman, The Tampa (Fla.) Bay Times. December 4, 2012. “The Deepwater Horizon disaster happened in one of the worst places in the world for an oil spill — 5,000 feet …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: December 4, 2012
RESTORE Act’s Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to hold first meeting Dec. 11 in Mobile, Ala. By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). November 30, 2012. “The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which will oversee the spending of about 80 percent of BP Clean Water Act fine money under the terms of the federal RESTORE Act, will hold its first public meeting in Mobile, Ala., on Dec. 11…” (Read more) Future oil permits should require flow-rate gauge-BP spill study By …
Study on sedimentation will help planners develop effective river diversions
By Alisha A. Renfro, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, National Wildlife Federation This year, drought conditions throughout most of the country have left the Mississippi River flowing at a near all-time low. This is a stark comparison to 2011, when heavy rains and a large snowmelt in the spring sent record levels of water and sediment flowing down the river. At the Old River Control Structure north of Baton Rouge, the flow of the river is split, with 70 percent continuing down …
Tagged ReportsNominations Sought For Top State Conservation Awards
(November 30, 2012 – BATON ROUGE, LA) The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) is accepting nominations for the 49th Governor’s State Conservation Achievement Awards. The program recognizes those persons and organizations making outstanding contributions to the natural resource welfare and environmental quality of the community, parish and state. There are eight award categories for which nominations can be made. They are: professional; volunteer; business; educator; youth; elected official; communications and organization. Nominations will be accepted until January 21, 2013. The awards …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: November 30, 2012
Louisiana lining up major restoration projects to build with BP oil spill fine money By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). November 29, 2012. “Louisiana officials are scrambling to prepare plans for dozens of coastal restoration projects in anticipation of the arrival of billions of dollars in BP oil spill fine money, the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority was told Wednesday…” (Read more) Contract Ban, Civil Litigation Add To BP’s Woes By Debbie Elliot, NPR Morning Edition. November 29, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: November 29, 2012
The spill: How much should BP suffer? By Michael Pearson, CNN. November 28, 2012. “(CNN) — Remember when oil giant BP paid billions of dollars to clean up its own mess from the 2010 Gulf oil spill? Then the company agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay an unprecedented $4 billion fine for the spill…” (Read more) EPA suspends BP from new federal contracts in wake of oil spill By Steve Mufson, The Washington Post. November 28, 2012. …
What the BP criminal settlement means for Gulf Coast restoration
By Whit Remer, Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered welcomed and unexpected good news for Gulf Coast restoration efforts. On November 15, DOJ announced they had reached a settlement with BP on all criminal charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But what was expected to be a simple press conference outlining the details of the criminal plea agreement turned out to be a huge $2.4 …
Job Opening: Senior Policy Specialist, Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign, National Wildlife Federation
DESCRIPTION: The Senior Policy Specialist will be responsible for National Wildlife Federation’s national portion of the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign (MRDRC) to secure authorization and federal funding for restoring the Mississippi River Delta, in concert with team members in Louisiana and nationwide, with NWF’s Gulf Coast Restoration team, and with our MRDRC partner organizations. This position will be responsible for working within NWF and with our partners on this campaign to advance efforts to restore the delta. Specifically, the …
Tagged EconomicsLatest Mississippi River Delta News: November 28, 2012
BP Appears in Court to Enter Criminal Plea Over Spill By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Allen Johnson Jr., Bloomberg News. November 27, 2012. “BP Plc (BP/) appeared in federal court in New Orleans to answer U.S. charges brought over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, entering a not guilty plea that won’t affect its $4 billion criminal settlement with the U.S…” (Read more) In BP oil spill, two drilling veterans scapegoated, attorneys say By Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post. …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: November 27, 2012
Senator Landrieu Backs Civil Settlement With BP By Eileen Fleming, WWNO (New Orleans). November 26, 2012. “With the BP criminal settlement over the 2010 oil spill now pending a judge’s approval, talks are heating up to reach a deal on civil Clean Water Act fines. U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu is hoping they’re successful…” (Read more) Texas still waiting for $100M in restoration funds from BP oil spill By Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune. November 27, 2012. “AUSTIN — Texas has …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: November 26, 2012
To Hurricane Sandy victims New Orleans sends its love: Editorial The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). November 23, 2012. “The rest of this country – and indeed the whole world – opened its heart to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and its accompanying levee breaks submerged us…” (Read more) How felony pleas could work against BP in other cases By Loren Steffy, The Houston Chronicle. November 16, 2012. “While BP’s criminal settlement in the Deepwater Horizon case was unprecedented, what it didn’t …
LPB TV and the BP Oil Disaster: “Louisiana: The State We’re In”
Last Friday on Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s (LPB) “Louisiana: The State We’re In,” panelists representing impacted families, state communities and the environment discussed the recent Department of Justice announcement of an unprecedented $4.5 billion BP criminal case settlement for BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, plus ongoing impacts and restoration needs. Panelists included: Keith Jones, whose son was among the eleven killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion; Melanie Driscoll, Director of Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society’s Mississippi Flyway and Gulf of Mexico; and …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: November 20, 2012
BP’s Settlement Is Only the Beginning of the End of the Gulf Oil Spill By Bryan Walsh, Time Magazine. November 16, 2012. “All the oil has been cleaned up or has evaporated from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico—well, nearly all of it—while the spill itself seems to have receded into memory, something that transfixed us for months but which is now little more than grist for an episode of the Newsroom…” (Read more) BP spills green Editorial, The …
A Look at the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force’s Science Coordination Team
By Alisha Renfro, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, National Wildlife Federation In the aftermath of the BP oil disaster, President Obama created the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force through an executive order in October 2010. The mission of this Environmental Protection Agency-led group was to develop a long-term, holistic and science-based ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf Coast. Included in this effort was the Science Coordination Team which involved more than 70 scientists from federal and state agencies who provided scientific …
Tagged ReportsLatest Mississippi River Delta News: November 19, 2012
BP Spill Settlement Is $2.4 Billion Windfall for Wildlife By Mark Drajem, Bloomberg News. November 18, 2012. “Oil was still gushing from BP Plc (BP/)’s Macondo well in 2010 when a little-known non-profit rushed to establish a new resting area for more than 1 billion migratory birds that stop each year at the Gulf of Mexico…” (Read more) Gulf Coast States at Odds on Penalties for Oil Spill By Campbell Robertson, The New York Times. November 16, 2012. “NEW ORLEANS …