Gulf Restoration Network

Wave Maker's News: Conservation Dollars Funding Environmental Destruction Healthy Waters / Dead Zone Tuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

This article is excerpted from Wave Maker's News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the full newsletter here.

Disturbed beach in Pass Christian as construction begins. How does one keep a straight face while creating new environmental impacts with money meant to restore or mitigate for old ones? For the answer, you can look to the state of Mississippi, and the city of Pass Christian in particular, where dredging for a harbor expansion began December 15, 2011 on fifteen hundred feet of what was formerly public beach. This project is funded partly by the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP), which is designed to compensate coastal states for the adverse impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration by funding projects that restore and protect coastal natural resources. Dredging this harbor impacts the beach, the shallow water bottoms and fish and wildlife habitat.

The irony and contradiction of using coastal restoration money to pay for any part of a new dredging project was not lost on the Federal Minerals Management Service (MMS) two years ago when they rejected this project, along with a similar project in Long Beach, Mississippi. What happened? Last year after the BP oil drilling disaster, MMS was punished, restructured and renamed. During this time, the applicants moved fast to amend and resubmit their rejected CIAP requests. In the ensuing agency confusion, and with a little congressional arm twisting, the Pass Christian and Long Beach harbor expansions were resurrected and funded. Dredging new harbors under the pretense of restoring the coast means that other CIAP projects that followed the program’s purposes and deserved funding were cut. What a shame.

Andrew Whitehurst is GRN's Assistant Director of Science and Water Policy.

See This Movie! BPs Oil Drilling Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, 30 January 2012 09:17

My mom has been convinced for years that my organizing and activism is really just a stepping stone to a career in Hollywood.  I love my Mom, but I have no idea why she thinks this.  I have no interest in acting.  I haven't been in a theatrical performance since a role in the HMS Pinafore in the 2nd grade  (I was "sailor no. 3", and had no lines).

But I'm really afraid that when she reads this blog, she's going to say "See! I told you".

You see, I just got back from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, attending the world premier of a film I had a feature role in.

It's called Dirty Energy.  You've gotta see it.  I played myself.  The film also features friends of mine who attended the premier: Exxon Valdez survivor Riki Ott, Louisiana shrimper/oysterman George Barasich, fishing community advocate Margaret Curole and her husband Kevin (a former shrimper) and a number of other important Gulf voices.

Dirty Energy is a powerful film because it is committed to sharing the stories of the people who lived the BP drilling disaster, and who are still dealing with the fallout.

Thanks to the support of some great Santa Barbara institutions, we had an opportunity to share the film with a huge theater full of folks, and have discussions about what's been happening to the Gulf and coastal communities recently.  

At a q and a with the director, Bryan Hopkins, and all the folks above, we heard about George's challenges shrimping last season, and how his oysters aren't really coming back.  We heard about the ongoing fight to make sure fishing communities are properly compensated.  I shared the ecological concerns that are mounting.  Rikki pointed out how so much of this is the exact same script that Exxon used, and how critical it is we level the playing field between corporations and the grassroots.

Grasses -the shelter of the seas Storm Protection / Coastal Issues Friday, 27 January 2012 12:44

Grasses -the shelter of the seas

We've been acting to protect Florida seagrasses in Pasco County on the Nature Coast of Florida, because the Nature Coast boasts the largest and most pristine seagrass beds in the Gulf.

Large areas of clear, shallow water are essential for seagrass, and clean water is what's at stake in Pasco County.  

But our friends at Deep Sea News have described other challenges for the plants.  Like whales, the ancestors of seagrass adapted to life under the water from a very different life on land.

“Water bends light. And seagrasses are one plant group that needs a lot of light. Species must deal with the lower intensity of underwater light, as well as the shift in proportions of different wavelengths that penetrate the ocean surface.”

“The sea is also salty. At the level of cells and tissues, a huge array of basic molecular processes are controlled by the flow of sodium and potassium ions across membranes. Marine species must possess specific adaptations to grow and thrive amongst high environmental levels of salt.”

 “Surprise #3, the ocean has waves. Flimsy grasses must be able to hold their ground. Tides and currents also impact reproduction (you don’t want all your gametes to float away) and photosynthesis (a reduced availability of carbon dioxide).”

“So life in the sea required seagrasses to address some serious issues that would otherwise be very detrimental to essential biological processes.”

[read "I hate plants, but seagrasses are awesome" here]

On the Gulf Coast, humans also face the challenges of tidal surge, too much salt, and dirty water.  Seagrass is an ally in our struggle to remain on the coast.   Help seagrass keep us. 

And next time you have the chance to stop off in the Nature Coast, it is worth your time to enjoy one of the last undisturbed beds of seagrass in the nation.

Scott Anderson is a Healthy Waters Intern

Report: Drilling Bad Bet for Mississippi Healthy Waters / Dead Zone Thursday, 26 January 2012 16:11

View of drilling rig and platforms, approximatelly 1.4 miles from Alabama's Dauphin Island. Photo credit Harold Wright.On Wednesday, I joined a group of business owners and conservationists at the Yacht Harbor in Gulfport, Mississippi to speak out against a proposal to open up state waters to oil and gas drilling and production.  Check out an article about the event in Mississippi’s Sun Herald.

From the BP drilling disaster to the ongoing impacts of the oil and gas industry on Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, it’s pretty clear that drilling and production can do some serious harm to the coastal environment. However, the centerpiece of this event was an economic report, Drilling by the Numbers, which factually challenges the lie being perpetuated by drilling proponents that this plan would be good for Mississippi’s coastal economy and communities.

The report analyzes a number of different aspects of the issue, including how much oil and gas is likely to be found in state waters, what the economic cost and benefits of this proposal are likely to be, and the potential risks to the Mississippi Gulf coast.  One of the most significant conclusions is that drilling in state waters will have an impact on the state’s massive tourism economy, and a drop in tourism of as little as 2 to 3% could swamp any gains from drilling and leave the state with a net loss of revenue.

At the event in Gulfport, we certainly couldn’t come up with any good reasons for implementing this idea. This proposal doesn’t make sense for Mississippi’s communities, the health of the coast, or even the coastal economy. The only folks who would seem to benefit are the oil and gas companies that could swoop in and harvest the state’s mineral resources at bargain prices.  Click here to tell political leaders that they should be looking out for the coast and their constituents, not oil and gas companies.

Raleigh Hoke is GRN's Mississippi Organizer.

Wave Maker's News: Florida's Nature Coast in Jeopardy Healthy Waters / Dead Zone Wednesday, 25 January 2012 00:00

This article is excerpted from Wave Maker's News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the full newsletter here.

Fillman’s Bayou, with a kingfisher perched on the branch in the foreground.Pasco County’s stretch of the Nature Coast is a truly special place. Home to an amazing coastal ecosystem of seagrass, mangroves, wetlands and emergent marshland, it functions as a nursery for many important species in the Gulf of Mexico, including redfish, dolphins and endangered manatees. Sadly, this vital environment is threatened by a massive development proposal dubbed SunWest Harbourtowne.

This development involves dredging a 4.86 mile long, 85 foot wide channel through the heart of Fillman’s Bayou, just south of Aripeka, Florida. The size of the channel prompted Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Director Adam Putnam to ask why this channel needed to be large enough to accommodate an “oil tanker”!

The answer is unclear, but it is clear that this mega-channel will devastate seagrass beds that provide critical shelter, nursery, breeding, and foraging areas for many of Florida’s signature game fish species. These seagrasses also provide habitat for other marine life like pinfish and blue crabs, as well as wading and shore birds such as little blue herons and plovers.

Add Your Voice for the Coast Today! Storm Protection / Coastal Issues Monday, 23 January 2012 09:52

The coastal crisis in Southern Louisiana is at a tipping point. We continue to lose a football field of wetlands every hour, or 16 square miles a year.  If we fail to adequately address the problem, that rate could skyrocket to 51 square miles every year, jeopardizing our very way of life.  

Fortunately, Louisiana has released its draft 2012 Coastal Master Plan and it prioritizes a coastal lines of defense approach, including efforts to use the Mississippi River to build land, constructing oyster reefs, and creating marsh in land bridges.  We are also happy to see that non-structural flood protection—elevation of homes, flood-proofing, and helping people relocate, is given significant attention in the plan as well.

The Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration is holding public hearings on the Coastal Master Plan this week and is encouraging citizens to learn more about the projects and get engaged.  You can check out GRN’s initial commentary on the Master Plan below.

The communities of Louisiana must speak up!  The plan utilized focus groups from Fisheries, Oil and Gas, and Navigation, but it needs your input as well.  We have seen the State revise coastal plans based on past hearings, so we know that our comments will be heard.

Please come out to the Master Plan Exhibit and Public Hearing today, January 23rd at University of New Orleans: Lindy Boggs Conference Center Auditorium - 2045 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans LA
Learn about project selection, flooding risks, how the Louisiana landscape is changing, and share your thoughts on protecting and restoring the coast.

Exhibit                  1:00 – 5:30 (open house, ask questions of state staff who helped develop the plan, look at exhibits, etc.)
Public Hearing      5:30 – 7:30

Tomorrow folks in Houma can add their thoughts, and Wednesday the road show will pull into Lake Charles.  The schedule will be the same at each event.

January 24, Houma, LA, Terrebonne Civic Center

January 25, Lake Charles, LA,  Lake Charles Civic Center

Aaron Viles is GRN's Deputy Director.  You can follow him on twitter here.

Healing the marshes of the Louisiana Delta Storm Protection / Coastal Issues Friday, 20 January 2012 16:46

Healing the marshes of the Louisiana Delta   

When you are cut, you bleed. The lacerations into the marsh carved by canals bleed our wetlands’ ability to provide for us.  Oil and Gas canals, most of which only access dried up or abandoned wells, have been dredged through tens of thousands of acres of marsh in the Louisiana Delta.

These canals have cut up the marshes.  Less obvious are the marshes buried on either side of the canal by dredge spoil.  The extraction of oil and produced water from the wells has aggravated the rapid subsidence, or sinking, of the Barataria-Terrebonne basin. 

Area off the GIWW Near Mandalay NWR in Terrebonne Basin

 These wounds also alter water flow in and out of their surroundings, so that marshes are weakened for a mile around each spoil bank. These sick marshes are less likely to grow, or "vertically accrete," against subsidence and a rising sea level. 

 The easiest way to restore our interior marshes, and allow the wounds to heal themselves, is to remove the spoil that has buried marsh for decades.  This is called "backfilling." [reference] Although the canals are never completely filled, the shallow water allows hunters and fishers access while providing a platform for underwater plants that are home to crabs and fishes.

 Specifically, there is no reason that inactive canals should remain open on lands in the public trust.  We the coastal communities need healthy  marshes for our food and shelter. Public lands should serve the public good, especially where drilling activities have been dormant for decades. 

 We were wondering how large an area these spoil banks amounted to, given the large acreage of canals dredged across the Delta.  Using maps and aerial photos from USGS and other government sources, we looked for spoil banks in public marsh intact enough to heal itself.

Acreages of canal in each public parcel

 Many areas, like Point Aux Chenes Wildlife Area, have seen so much impact from the industry that the potential for restoration is almost nil.  The oil and gas industry has destroyed 40% of the marshes within Point Aux Chenes Wildlife Management Area ("WMA"), and there remain only 70 acres of spoil that could, perhaps, be restored to marsh.

Point Aux Chenes.  Backfilling might not work here.

 Other areas, like Salvador and Timken WMAs, are more intact.  Marsh under these spoil banks could recover very quickly.  Although there is still oil extraction in these public areas, only about 30% of the hundreds of wells are active or “shut in” for future use.  That means about half of the canals have been inactive for decades.  The marshes along these canals are candidates for restoration. Uncovering them would give about 350 acres of direct benefit, and more over twenty years.

Spoil areas away from active oil wells in Timken WMA.  (SONRIS)

 There are hundreds of canals that have been left open for decades.  Every year these canals stay open, with no benefit to the companies, no benefits to the public, is a year we have lost the benefits the marsh gives us. 

We hold that all inactive wells, all plugged and abandoned wells and dry holes on public lands should have their access canals backfilled, or at least have their banks degraded to restore the natural flow of water across the marsh. 

We estimate that there could be more than 2000 acres of direct marsh restoration, if our preliminary assumptions hold, for interior public lands across the Delta.  This number does not include the countless miles of marsh restored to health when sheet flow of tidal waters is restored.

These scars are Louisiana's to bear. There are many more miles of privately owned wetlands that show these track marks of oil addiction. In a time when Louisiana is desperately seeking federal funding to restore marsh, our public lands cannot afford to look like a junkie's arm.

 Scott Anderson is a Healthy Waters intern for Gulf Restoration Network.  Scott Eustis is the Coastal Wetland Specialist for GRN.

Drilling on Mississippi's Horizon? Energy / Global Warming Friday, 20 January 2012 13:35

Don’t see any oil or gas platforms on the horizon along Mississippi’s coast? That could change soon, unless you take action now to tell Governor Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) to reject a plan to open up state waters to drilling and production.It’s up to us to prevent the marred views of the horizon, light and noise pollution, and small and large spills that will come with the rigs.

This proposal was snuck in by former Gov. Barbour and the MDA during the holidays and just days before he left office. It would allow 4-6 stories rigs and platforms within one mile of the barrier islands, directly along the coast in the far western and eastern portions of the Mississippi Sound, and within 4 to 11 miles of most coastal towns. Plus, these rigs and platforms also mean more oil and gas pipelines along the coast, more industrial ship traffic, and a greater risk for accidents like the BP disaster.

That’s not good for the health of Mississippi’s coast, or thriving industries like coastal tourism that rely on it. Click below to tell your leaders to protect Mississippi’s coast and economy:

http://grn.convio.net/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=329

In 2005, a similar proposal was defeated as thousands of concerned citizens spoke out against oil and gas drilling along Mississippi’s coast. It’s time to stop them again.

Raleigh Hoke is GRN's Mississippi Organizer.

The Louisiana Master Plan launches us into the future: Where will we land? Storm Protection / Coastal Issues Thursday, 19 January 2012 11:48

The Louisiana Master Plan launches us into the future:  Where will we land?

Restoring Louisiana’s wetlands, North America’s Great Delta, is a national issue, and Louisiana has taken a leadership role.  We are excited that Louisiana is ramping up piecemeal projects into larger scale restoration that truly addresses the crisis, and is pursuing a long-term vision that reconnects the Mississippi River with its Delta and protects coastal communities from the Gulf of Mexico.

It is truly now or never.  If coastal Louisiana is to have a future, this effort is irreplaceable.  Hard decisions have been made; but we are happy to see that non-structural flood protection—elevation of homes, flood-proofing, and helping people relocate, is given significant funding in the plan.