Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 7, 2015
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BP Comes to Record $20.8 Billion Settlement Agreement Over Gulf Oil Spill *features MRD statement By Katie Valentine, Think Progress. October 6, 2015 “The oil disaster damaged hundreds of miles of shoreline (and) killed more than 1 million birds, mammals and other wildlife — and we will not know the full environmental effects of the spill for decades to come,” the Audubon Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund, and other groups said in a joint statement. “The (assessment) process will help …
CRCL Leads the Largest One-Day Volunteer Restoration Effort to Commemorate Hurricane Rita
By Jimmy Frederick, Communications Director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Ten years ago the beaches of Cameron Parish were under 15 feet of Gulf of Mexico water as Hurricane Rita slammed ashore. Rita was the second major hurricane to hit Coastal Louisiana in less than a month in 2005 and was, in fact, stronger than Hurricane Katrina when it made landfall. The storm surge inundated coastal communities as far inland as Lake Charles and left thousands of homes and businesses …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 6, 2015
US, states announce settlement with BP over gulf oil spill *features MRD statement By Eric Tucker, AP. October 5, 2015 “A coalition of conservation organizations, including the National Audubon Society and the Environmental Defense Fund, praised the arrangement. The groups said in a joint statement that while the full damage of the oil spill may not yet be known, the process “will help bring the Gulf back to the state it was before the spill, and the release of this …
Conservation Groups Pleased to See Gulf Restoration Efforts Advance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jimmy Frederick, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.767.4181, jimmy.frederick@crcl.org John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Conservation Groups Pleased to See Gulf Restoration Efforts Advance NRDA Trustees Release 1,500-Page Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (NEW ORLEANS – October 5, 2015) Today, the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees released …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 5, 2015
State coastal board proposes sending money left over from coastal projects to La. 1 elevation work *features Steve Cochran, EDF, David Muth, NWF, Cynthia Duet, NAS, Rebecca Triche, LWF By Amy Wold, The Advocate, October 4, 2015 “There is no underestimating the importance of Port Fourchon, but these types of projects must stay separate from restoration efforts,” said King Milling, chair of the America’s WETLAND Foundation and a CPRA board member. “Unless we do everything possible to stop coastal land …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 2, 2015
Our Views: Coastal funding shouldn’t suffer because of failure to properly budget highway projects The Advocate, October 1, 2015 “The Jindal proposal will create a terrible precedent, that money from the Coastal Trust Fund can be used for politically popular projects. Access to Port Fourchon is vital to the oil and gas industry, and that is why we support the expensive elevation project. What we don’t support is sacrificing our future credibility for federal aid for the cost because Jindal …
Expert Diversion Panel: State has all information needed to make decision on advancing diversions
By: Alisha Renfro, Staff Scientist, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, National Wildlife Federation Sediment diversions are restoration projects that carry sediment and water from the river through a gated structure on the levee into nearby basins, mimicking the way the Mississippi River once built much of southeast Louisiana. This type of project was identified in the 2012 Coastal Master Plan as a vital tool for far-reaching and long-lasting restoration of our coastal wetlands. Four sediment diversion projects from the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 1, 2015
Guest commentary: Our coastal protection, restoration efforts are making a difference By Chip Kline, The Advocate. September 30, 2015 “Are our protection and restoration efforts making a difference? The answer is yes, we are better protected than just a few years ago, but there is still a long way to go. The best news may be that we are fighting back with a scientifically effective plan, and for the first time, we have funding to make it happen. However, getting …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 30, 2015
Date set for final decision on construction of river diversion, as research continues By Bob Marshall, The Lens. September 29, 2015 “The final decision on whether to start building the first river diversion in the state’s coastal restoration effort is set to be made Oct. 21. Kyle Graham, head of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said his agency’s governing board will decide that day whether to build or cancel the Mid-Barataria Diversion near Myrtle Grove, the first of …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 29, 2015
Wetlands advocates object to using BP money for highway bridge By Mark Schliefstein, The Times-Picayune. September 28, 2015 “The America’s WETLAND Foundation is opposing the use of BP oil spill fine money to elevate Louisiana 1 near Port Fourchon or for any other infrastructure project. It announced its position Saturday (Sept. 26), putting it at odds with Gov. Bobby Gov. Bobby Jindal.” (Read More)
New report quantifies storm reduction benefits of natural infrastructure and nature-based measures
By Shannon Cunniff, Deputy Director for Water, Environmental Defense Fund Coastal zones are the most densely populated areas in the world. In the U.S., they generate more than 42 percent of the nation’s total economic output. These coastal communities, cities and infrastructure are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rising seas and increased storms, as well as ongoing coastal development, have stripped these natural environments of their innate resilience to storms and flooding, leaving coastlines and the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 28, 2015
Wetlands advocacy group opposes using BP oil-spill fines for La. 1 By Abby Tabor, The Houma Courier. September 26, 2015 “Unless we do everything possible to stop coastal land loss in this state, there will not be a Port Fourchon or Grand Isle,” he said. “This funding source should remain dedicated to its intended purpose, and any attempt to do otherwise would set a bad precedent.” (Read More) State to move forward with Mississippi River diversion plans next month …
MRD Priority Restoration Projects Included in Restore Council's Initial Draft Funded Priorities List
By Helen Rose Patterson, Greater New Orleans Outreach Coordinator, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition Last week, the RESTORE Council completed the last of six public meetings about their draft Initial Funded Priorities List. Restore the Mississippi River Delta staff attended the meeting in New Orleans on the University of New Orleans campus. Justin Ehrenwerth, executive director of the RESTORE Council, provided a brief overview of the Council-selected priority watersheds in the Gulf and a more detailed explanation of the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: September 25, 2015
Billions (with a B) headed to Louisiana and Gulf Coast *features Simone Maloz, ROR By Simone Maloz, Oil & Industry Magazine. September, 2015 “While there are many more i’s to dot and t’s to cross on the BP settlement agreement, we have been provided a great opportunity; however, many challenges and tough decisions remain. Now more than ever, through transparency and public participation throughout the process, Louisiana and our coastal parishes must show ourselves and the nation we have always …
Remembering Rita: 10 Years Later
Today, September 24, marks 10 years since Hurricane Rita – the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico – slammed ashore sending a storm surge up to 18 feet in some locations, killing 120 people, damaging areas stretching from Plaquemines to Cameron Parishes and into Texas and causing over $10 billion in damages. Rita demonstrated that the best offense against future storms is strong “Multiple Lines of Defense” that begins with restoring and preserving the wetlands that buffer …
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