Latest news: December 12, 2011
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Rescue for the Gulf Editorial, New York Times. December 9, 2011. “The Obama administration this week officially began what it hopes will be a sustained push to reverse decades of man-made degradation in the Gulf of Mexico. The trigger for this effort is last year’s disastrous BP oil spill. But the administration’s strategy goes beyond repairing immediate damages, to the task of restoring the entire ecosystem to good health…” Matt Reed: BP fines should aid coasts, not congressional spending By …
84% of Florida Voters Support Bill to Spend BP Fines on Gulf Restoration
75% of State Voters More Likely to Support Candidates Who Back Bill (Tallahassee, Fla.—Dec. 12, 2011) Eighty-four percent of Florida voters and 92 percent of Panhandle voters support a bill approved by a Senate committee that would ensure the BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration, according to a new poll released today at news conferences in Tallahassee and Pensacola. The poll also showed 75 percent of Florida voters and 82 percent of Panhandle voters are more likely …
Tagged Economics, ReportsJoin the RESTORE Act Social Media Days of Action!
By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund Today and tomorrow, we are asking everyone to participate in Twitter (today) and Facebook (tomorrow) Social Media Days of Action around the RESTORE Act, urging Congress to make the bill a priority this year. The RESTORE Act will ensure that 80 percent of the Gulf oil spill Clean Water Act penalties that BP and other responsible parties will have to pay will be returned the Gulf States that deserve it. We need Congress to …
House Committee Holds Hearing to Advance RESTORE Act
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund On Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee held a hearing on the RESTORE Act (H.R. 3096), a bill that would ensure that fines paid by BP and the other parties responsible for last year’s Gulf oil spill are used to support both environmental and economic restoration in the region. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) Chairman of the T&I Committee held the hearing to “hear everyone out in an open forum.” Rep. Mica said …
Latest news: December 9, 2011
Healing the Gulf and how to pay for it (editorial) By Mississippi Press Editorial Board, The Mississippi Press. December 9, 2011. “THE FINAL report of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, delivered this week to President Barack Obama, lays out an excellent plan for how to improve the overall health of the Gulf in the aftermath of the BP oil spill. Now Congress needs to do its part and approve the funding…” Congress, get the facts on Gulf Coast …
Latest news: December 8, 2011
Oil spill: Supporters of fine bill face skeptical lawmakers By George Altman, Mobile Press-Register. December 8, 2011. “WASHINGTON — Gulf Coast lawmakers, business leaders and local officials pressed a congressional committee Wednesday for approval of a bill that could send billions of dollars in oil spill fines to the Gulf states, but met tough questions from critics of the proposal…” BP oil spill fines may not flow easily to Gulf Coast states By Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune. December 8, 2011. “WASHINGTON …
Latest news: December 7, 2011
Cornyn holds out on bill to bring spill money to Gulf region By Matthew Tresaugue, Houston Chronicle. December 6, 2011. “Texas Republican John Cornyn is the only holdout among Gulf Coast senators in support of two bills that would funnel a portion of the fines from last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill to ecological restoration…” Full Committee Legislative Hearing to Review RESTORE Act The Maritime Executive. December 6, 2011. “Washington, DC – The Transportation Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. John L. …
House Committee Praised for Holding Hearing on Gulf Restoration
Hearing follows two new reports recommending Congress use oil spill fines to restore Gulf (Washington, D.C.—Dec. 7, 2011) Groups supporting restoration of the Gulf Coast today thanked House leaders on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for drawing attention to the benefits of the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 by holding a committee hearing on the bill today at 10am. The RESTORE Act would ensure that fines paid by BP and the other parties responsible for last year’s Gulf …
Tagged EconomicsLatest news: December 6, 2011
Task Force Says BP Oil Spill Fines Should Go to Gulf Restoration By Leslie Kaufman, New York Times. December 5, 2011. “A Gulf Coast task force appointed by President Obama recommended on Monday that a “significant portion” of the billions of dollars in fines that BP is expected to pay for last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill go to ecological restoration…” States want to direct flow of Gulf oil spill fines By Rick Jervis, USA Today. December 5, 2011. “A …
Task Force Restoration Strategy is a Vital Next Step Toward Whole Gulf Recovery
By Elizabeth Skree and Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund Today, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force released their final Ecosystem Restoration Strategy for the Gulf Coast. After the BP oil disaster, the President established the Task Force through an executive order and charged the group with developing a restoration plan for the Gulf Coast. You can download the strategy document here. This restoration strategy is a vital step in fulfilling the promises President Obama made in his first oval …
Tagged ReportsLatest news: December 5, 2011
Feds set to release gulf restoration plan By Matthew Tresaugue, Houston Chronicle. December 4, 2011. “A federal task force Monday will unveil an ambitious plan for restoring the Gulf of Mexico after decades of environmental abuse – most notably last year’s massive oil spill…” Landrieu: New Orleans to get $30M more for roads damaged by Katrina By Associated Press. December 3, 2011. “NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu says New Orleans will get $30 million in grants to repair …
RESTORE Act Fines Could Provide Job Opportunities in Gulf Coast, 32 Other States
Economic Study Released 2 Days Before House Hearing on RESTORE Act (Tallahassee, FL–December 5, 2011) The Clean Water Act penalties from last year’s BP oil disaster could kick start the launch of a long-term investment in ecosystem restoration and create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states, including more than 260 in the Gulf Coast and nearly 60 in Florida, according to a new Duke University study. The report—“RESTORING THE GULF …
Tagged Economics, ReportsLatest news: December 2, 2011
Oil spill claims expansion for shrimpers, crabbers is not retroactive By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). November 30, 2011. “In a move that Kenneth Feinberg hopes will bring holdout commercial fishers to the settlement table, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill claims czar announced Wednesday he will double compensation payments for shrimpers and crabbers. From now on, Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility will compensate shrimp and crab harvesters at four times their documented 2010 losses, rather than the …
Latest news: December 1, 2011
Gulf of Mexico oil spill damage money should be spent with public input, advocacy groups say By John Pope, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). November 30, 2011. “The public must be involved in determining how to spend the $1 billion BP has promised as an advance payment for environmental damages caused by last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the process must be as transparent as possible, a network of environmental and community groups said …
Volunteers Needed to Plant Cypress Trees at Jean Lafitte National Park's Barataria Preserve
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) and Jean Lafitte National Park are organizing volunteers to plant more than 800 cypress trees along the Bayou Segnette Waterway in Jefferson Parish, La. from Dec. 9 to Dec. 10, 2011. The objective of the project is to protect marsh ecosystems from erosion threats and from invasion by the exotic Chinese tallow tree. The restored marsh will also provide critical habit for wildlife. CRCL is also looking for volunteers to unload and transport …