Latest news: September 26, 2011
Wrap up congressional agreement on oil spill fines (editorial)
By Press-Register Editorial Board, Press-Register (Mobile, Al.). September 26, 2011.
“SENATE COMMITTEE members set an example of bipartisanship when they approved a bill to send oil spill fines to the Gulf Coast states. The measure now goes to the full Senate…”
Study shows dispersants BP used in oil spill may cause cancer
By Kimberly Blair, Pensacola News Journal. September 26, 2011.
“A recently released report does not settle the controversy over using oil dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico following the BP oil spill disaster. It likely will be years before the full scope of the dispersants’ effects on the environment and human and marine life are known…”
LSU studying oil spill via bugs, sparrows, oysters
By the Associated Press. September 25, 2011.
“BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Pelicans and other birds drenched in oil got lots of attention during last year’s BP oil spill. But bugs? LSU Agricultural Center scientists will compare bugs and spiders from areas hit by oil last summer to those in oil-free areas to learn more about the spill’s effects…”
18 months after the Gulf oil spill, BP is dipping its toe into drilling
By Richard Thompson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). September 25, 2011.
“More than a year after its crews began pumping cement into the blown-out Macondo well to shut it down permanently and end a months-long oil spill, BP is taking steps to get back to work in the Gulf of Mexico. But the company, the largest oil producer in the Gulf, is treading carefully. BP has been issued just two deepwater permits since the incident, to plug and abandon a pair of wells drilled long before the spill…”
Early indications point to an excellent teal season in Louisiana
By Bob Marshall, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). September 25, 2011.
“On Friday morning, I knew how Saints fans feel when everything goes right in the first preseason game. Their heroes are blocking, tackling, scoring and stopping like can’t-miss Super Bowl winners, so the season approaching can only be one of the greatest ever…”
Women of the Storm support the RESTORE Act
Sun Herald (Biloxi-Gulfport and South Mississippi). September 24, 2011.
“Abipartisan coalition of nine Gulf Coast senators led by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., introduced the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act of 2011 (S. 1400). This much-needed legislation will ensure that at least 80 percent of BP penalties paid under the Clean Water Act will be dedicated to the five Gulf States to invest in the long-term health of the coastal ecosystem and its economies. Without this legislation, the fine money will go into the U.S. Treasury and the Gulf Coast will get nothing…”
Experimental project aims to protect marshes
By Nikki Buskey, Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). September 24, 2011.
“ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES — Island Road is the only small strip of land remaining in the miles of open water that now separate Isle de Jean Charles from Pointe-aux-Chenes. But locals remember when it was different…”
Panel: Use BP fines for coast
By Nate Monroe, Houma Courier (Terrebonne Parish, La.). September 21, 2011.
“Local environmental activists and officials say Congress should quickly approve a bill that would dedicate billions of dollars in BP oil-spill fines toward coastal restoration and economic recovery…”