Blogging for a Healthy Gulf
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One of many tarballs.Last Thursday, I took a trip out to Ship Island off the Mississippi coast. On first glance, the Island seemed to have returned to normal: tourist relaxed on the beach, Fort Massachusetts was open for visitors, and fields of sea oats stood tall in the summer sun. I couldn’t resist jumping in for a quick dip myself. However, as I began to walk the beaches I started to notice how recent disasters have taken a toll on this place.
This was my first time visiting the Island since Hurricane Katrina and I was shocked to see how much land had been lost since my last visit. There used to be a long, white-sand beach that extended for several hundred yards behind the North Side of Fort Massachusetts. This beach had protected the fort and held it on dry land since its construction in the 1860’s. Now the Gulf waters lick directly against the fort's bricks, which hung precariously off the shore.
Walking down the beach on the South Side of the Island, I saw evidence of more recent events. I only had to walk about a third of a mile West of the main tourist area when I began to see tarballs - I had never seen tarballs before. Their sand-dotted exteriors broke away easily exposing the soft, semisolid interior that emitted a distinctive asphalt-like smell. These tarballs were not large, but I did find several different clumps, which indicates that they weren’t just there incidentally. The BP drilling disaster, which spewed hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, is a likely culprit. Other than the tarballs, there weren’t any obvious visible impacts to the beach; however, I did see an abnormally abundant array of dead seabirds. As a result, I wondered what the non-visible impacts of the spill were and to what degree they affect our coastal waters and wildlife. We will probably never be able to calculate the extent to which the coast was damaged. We will never know exactly how many casualties were suffered between our local marine fish, mammals, and avian friends. It is, therefore, essential that we make every possible effort to protect and restore the coastal habitats that local animals and ourselves depend on. |
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Read more: BP, Katrina Leave Their Marks on Ship Island
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 Congress has finally introduced a bill to help restore the Gulf by directing fines and penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to the Gulf for ecosystem restoration.
Here in the Gulf, let's take a moment to thank our senators for working together to introduce the Restore The Gulf Coast Act of 2011, and ask our representatives to follow suit. Thanks to the nine of ten Gulf state senators who co-sponsored this legislation, and to Senator Barbara Boxer, who helped keep the legislation on track! If you aren't from the Gulf, or California, simply call your Senators and ask them to support the RESTORE Act.
The Gulf has long borne the burden of our nation's oil dependency, and it's absolutely appropriate for the fines from the nation's largest deepwater drilling disaster to be put to work to restore the ecosystem that has been imperiled by the oil industry. Congress should also strengthen rules to prevent future oil disasters.
Today, Gulf Coast citizens will join together for a call-in day to thank our Senators for introducing legislation that would invest billions of dollars of Clean Water Act penalties in ecosystem and economic restoration across the Gulf, and urge passage of legislation that would create a Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens Advisory Council to help ensure safe drilling practices.
How can you help?
More info here: http://grn.convio.net/site/Advocacy?alertId=275&pg=makeACall.
Thanks for taking the time to make these calls for the Gulf today.
Aaron Viles is GRN's Deputy Director. You can follow him on twitter here. |
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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.
Red Tide algal bloom. Photo courtesy of NOAA and PJS Franks.In 2004 to 2005, a devastating Red Tide hit Florida’s southwest Gulf coast. Karenia brevis was the culprit; the red tide exploded in size, intensity and duration to create our very own Dead Zone the size of Rhode Island. Other harmful algal blooms (HABs) have shown up since then, most notably the Pyrimodium bahamense HAB that lingered in upper Tampa Bay in 2009 and 2010.
These blooms are harmful to fish and marine mammals, and often generate airborne toxins that threaten human health. Furthermore, these HABs can have devastating impacts on coastal economies that rely on a healthy Gulf for tourism and recreation. In recent years, cities and counties up and down the Florida Gulf coast have passed residential fertilizer ordinances in an effort to restrict the excess nitrogen that flows into our waterways and contributes to these devastating HABs. In urban areas, fertilizer use is one the major sources of Dead Zone-causing nitrogen pollution.
In 2010, Pinellas County took action to revitalize Florida’s Southwest Gulf Coast waterways when it voted to pass the Residential Landscape & Fertilizer Ordinance, including a June through September point of sale ban on Nitrogen fertilizers. The vetting process for the Pinellas ordinance included four stakeholder meetings held by Tampa Bay Estuary Program, two meetings of the county’s Environmental Science Forum, two preliminary and one final hearing by the Board of County Commissioners. |
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Read more: Wave Maker’s News: Being Floridian – A Tale of Fertilizer
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Whew! After months of negotiations, wrangling and missteps, a Senate bill has finally been introduced to use BP's clean water act fines to jumpstart restoration efforts in the Gulf. Kudos to Senators Landrieu, Boxer, Vitter, Shelby, and every other member of the Gulf delegation who came together around this much-needed bill. In these days of hyper-partisanship it's refreshing to see the cross region, cross party support. Here's GRN's official statement on the bill's release. Of course, there's a fair distance from bill introduction to bill passage, so this is no time to let up, but it's a very hopeful sign. For a detailed account of that process, head here.
 The simple math is that 80% of the eventual fines get put into a restoration trust fund, which then splits up the money this way:
35% directly to the states (7% to each)
60% to be allocated by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (which the bill also creates).
Of the 60%, 1/2 goes to the development and implementation of a comprehensive restoration plan (kind of like the plan currently under development by the Gulf Ecosystem Restoration Task Force) while the other 1/2 goes to the states, alocated via an impact-driven formula, for state restoration plans approved by the council.
5% goes to a Gulf science and fisheries focused research program.
So as I look at the math, it seems clear that we could see about $2 1/2 billion spent on ecosystem restoration for the Gulf, as long as BP ultimately ponies up at least the mid-range of their $5-$20b liability. That's a lot of restoration. Of course, if the Restoration Council really takes its name to heart, and ensures that the money is spent on science-driven restoration efforts, it could be a lot more.
For instance, in Louisiana, BP's fines can be invested in restoring the Mississippi River Delta and the coastal wetlands it built. According to the USGS, Louisiana is experiencing 90% of our nation's coastal wetlands loss, so it's critical we move quickly to address this crisis. With the majority of sea life in the Gulf dependant on estuaries for part of their life cycle, healthy wetlands are a signficant part of the equation for a healthy Gulf.
Our quick take on it is that the RESTORE Act is an important step towards holding BP accountable for the largest oil disaster in our nation's history, and it is highly appropriate these funds are spent on restoring this threatened natural resource. Here's how a few other groups are viewing the bill. Of course, we also need to PROTECT the Gulf, so Congress needs to pass legislation to head off future oil disasters by establishing a Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens' Advisory Council to give local, impacted communities a role in ensuring oil spill response plans aren't about walruses and phantom skimming capacity.
Aaron Viles is GRN's Deputy Director.
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 GRN has been organizing our best activists across the nation to take their support off-line and host a movie screening in their home or community venue. Folks have been hosting Defend the Gulf movie screenings for the past 4 years to educate family and friends about Louisiana’s coastal wetlands crisis. This year, the focus of the films will be BP’s oil drilling disaster which is still severely impacting the people and places of our Gulf.
The series of shorts includes a beautiful piece from Cornell's Ornithology Lab, the hilarious "BP Spills Coffee", excerpts from GRN's issue-focused Gulf Tides series, and more. You can take a look at a few of the films on our YouTube channel. A screening in your home, church, or community center is a powerful way to educate your friends, family and neighbors and inspire them to take action for the Gulf.
It’s been over a year since the disaster and Congress has yet to pass legislation to learn the lessons of BP. We need them to act now to restore and protect the Gulf which is why we are aiming to have the home screenings take place during the summer Congressional recess (August 8 – Sept 5), when elected leaders will be back in their home districts.
Just choose a date that works for you (don’t worry, you can change it later if necessary) and sign up with our online system to create your own event page, and the GRN system will guide you through sending invitations.
http://grn.convio.net/site/GetTogether?cal_activity_id=1000&gettogether=activity_splash
From there, we’ll be with you every step of the way. A couple weeks before the event, we will send you a host packet, which will include:
- the DVD
- several fact sheets and post cards with information about the situation
- a petition urging Congress to pass legislation
- raffle tickets for a trip to New Orleans
- a Basin St Records sampler
- Community Coffee
- and more
The top four biggest parties will even win a bottle of Old New Orleans Rum or Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka to toast to a healthy Gulf! And of course, we’ll always be here to answer questions and provide support.
Last year, we helped hosts organize two hundred house parties that were both informative and a lot of fun. This year, we've set the goal at two hundred and twenty! Wherever you live, the Gulf needs your support, please host an event to help build the national call to restore the Gulf.
Ayn Pivnoka is GRN's Campaign Assistant |
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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.
 Mississippi has a long history of taking federal dollars for something good like environmental restoration or low-income housing and spending it on something environmentally damaging. One of the most dramatic examples is the over $1 billion in Katrina relief Housing and Urban Development grant money that went to unnecessary port expansions and new utility plants instead of towards directly helping victims of the disaster. Hence, it was not surprising to hear that Mississippi is going to receive a Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grant to expand the harbor at Long Beach. The CIAP program is meant to distribute revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to coastal states for the conservation and protection of coastal and marine areas. To justify this project, the state’s Department of Marine Resources claimed that the harbor expansion is actually “marine conservation,” which is very curious since this project will cause significant harm to the marine environment.
Through various communications with the Bureau on Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (formerly the embattled Minerals Management Service) and Mississippi DMR, GRN has learned some disturbing information about the Long Beach project. Mississippi was repeatedly told by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) that harbor projects would not be approved in a CIAP implementation plan. The state’s congressional delegation put pressure on MMS to approve the harbor projects, but MMS ultimately refused. The state finally removed these projects and submitted a plan that was approved by MMS on December 31, 2008, without the harbor expansions.
Last year, during the BP disaster and the restructuring of MMS into the Bureau on Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), Mississippi re-submitted the Long Beach project in an amendment to the approved plan. Amid the chaos of the restructuring, the harbor expansion project was approved.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources cautioned the Gulf Restoration Network that the Long Beach project is very political. Nevertheless, the GRN speaks truth to power and we will continue to ask hard questions about how federal conservation dollars are being spent. |
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The NRDA Early Restoration Project Selection is Underway –Which Candidates Will Make the Cut?
Our natural resource trustees are drafting a restoration plan for the Gulf Coast that will be paid for by BP and the other polluters through the Natural Resources Damages Assessment (NRDA) process. Many projects have been submitted, and many are posted online by NOAA, and Florida. For Louisiana, where much of the natural resource injury from BP’s disaster has occurred, and where there is a legacy of oil damage as well as restoration, there are over 400 projects listed.
NRDA money is separate from damages to property, damages to commercial enterprises, and other injuries to individuals as a result of oil spills. NRDA money is also separate from whatever Clean Water Act fines Congress allocates towards long-term ecosystem restoration, as determined by the president’s Gulf Task Force. NRDA money is supposed to go toward projects that restore natural resources to their pre-oil spill conditions, and to compensate the public for lost ecosystem services like shoreline protection, and to restore public access to nature for recreation. The NRDA process is lengthy because it involves a thorough assessment of all the damages caused by the oil spill, and is guided by the trustees (representatives from state and federal agencies), who have the ultimate authority to decide the course of restoration efforts. Right now, the trustees are working to select “early restoration” projects – those that can be implemented before the entire NRDA injury assessment process is complete.
Cracking Open the Black Box
Federal laws set general criteria for selecting projects; and Louisiana has additional criteria due the regularity of oil spills in the state. Beyond these guidelines, the trustees have not shared the specific criteria, like the Gulf Future or Oxfam guidelines (note: link to documents), that will be used to select projects .
Our worry is that the trustees won’t explain how they are going to evaluate restoration projects, and they’ll be free to choose projects that do not accomplish restoration goals, or worse – are bad for the Gulf coast.
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Read more: Which Projects will make the Cut?
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As Americans, we take for granted that the water we drink, swim in, and fish in is clean. In the not so recent past, this was not the case. Rivers were catching on fire and many rivers and lakes were dead. To a large extent, we owe our clean water to Congress passing the Clean Water Act in the 1970s. Now Congress is seeking to gut this vital piece of law. All of the waters of the United States need your help!
 GRN canoe trip on the Leaf River in Hattiesburg, MS - June 11th 2011
Congress will soon vote on a series of Dirty Water bills that will weaken EPA’s ability to ensure that your waters are clean. These “Dirty Water Bills” sacrifice public health by removing protections that safeguard our water. Congress will soon vote on 3 dirty water bills. They are:
- HR 2018 (the so called Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011) would reduce the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to make sure state rules for allowable pollution entering our waters are adequate to safeguard human health , as well as the health of local rivers and streams;
- S 718 (Pesticide Clean Water Act Exemption) will eliminate Clean Water Act protections against pesticide pollution;
- The Water & Energy Appropriations Spending bill 26-20, section 109, will kill recent guidance issued by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear up confusion about what wetlands and water bodies are covered by the Clean Water Act. This guidance is the first step in a process to restore protection for streams from pollution and wetlands from destruction.
For forty years, the Clean Water Act has been critical to protect our nation’s water and wetlands from pollution and destruction. If these bills are passed, Congress could turn back the clock and put the health of millions of Americans, as well as fish, and wildlife at risk.
Please send a message to your Senators and Representative today. Tell them that a return to the days of Dirty Water is unacceptable and that votes for these bills are a vote for dirty water.
http://grn.convio.net/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=257
Cyn Sarthou is GRN's Executive Director |
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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.
Satellite image of sediment plumes coming from the flooded Mississippi River, taken on May 17, 2011. Photo courtesy of NASA.Due to heavy rains and snow melt from North Dakota to Minnesota to New York, we have seen record-setting flood levels throughout the Lower Mississippi River Basin. This flooding has pushed the levee system to its limits, but it seems that the system has done what it is supposed to do. Part of utilizing the Mississippi River Levee system has meant the opening of three floodways: the Bird’s Point Floodway in Missouri, the Morganza Floodway in Louisiana, and the Bonnet Carré Spillway, also in Louisiana. The opening of these floodways has inundated farm land and residential property, but relieved the pressure of the floods on some urban centers, including Cairo, IL, Baton Rouge, LA and New Orleans.
Regretfully, the levee system that has protected many communities from Mississippi River flooding will likely exacerbate this year’s Dead Zone in the Gulf. Before the levees were built, when the River flooded routinely, it would spill into its floodplains and surrounding wetlands. These floodplains would slow the water down, help filter out pollutants, and store the floodwater. Now with these levees, the channel acts as a syringe, injecting the Mississippi—and the pollutants it contains—straight into the Gulf. Very simply, more pollution (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) equals a bigger Dead Zone.
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Read more: Wave Maker's News: Historic Floods, Historic Dead Zone
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If you're a regular reader of our blog, you know that a year after the start of the BP drilling disaster, BP's oil is still in our marsh, still affecting our coast and our communities. You've likely seen our photos of the impacts and the inadequate clean up and containment response, maybe watched a video, sent an e-mail to a decision-maker, made a donation, or shared a link with your friends. Thank you for all that you've done.
 Now I want to ask you to do more. To take action away from your computer, and become an off-line supporter of GRN.
As we get back from the July 4th beach trips and barbeques, we know that the urgency to protect and restore the Gulf is fading fast. If you were on a Gulf beach, you saw big crowds, or if you weren't maybe you've read headlines that indicate we're back to business as usual down here. But we're not. The oil is still here (photo on the right is from a May 2011 trip to Fourchon Beach), and Congress still hasn't passed a single bill to protect or restore the Gulf.
I want you to step up, and help change that by hosting an easy and exciting event this summer to help restore the Gulf! For the past 4 years, GRN volunteers have been hosting Defend the Gulf movie screening events in their homes, community centers, favorite bars and church basements to share films highlighting the greatest issues facing the Gulf and to inspire people to take action.
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Read more: You Pop the Popcorn, We'll Send the Movies
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Recent Posts

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Nearly two years ago the people and places of the Gulf of Mexico suffered the greatest oil disaster Written by Aaron Viles Wednesday, 01 February 2012
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This article is excerpted from Wave Maker's News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Written by Andrew Whitehurst Tuesday, 31 January 2012
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My mom has been convinced for years that my organizing and activism is really just a stepping stone Written by Aaron Viles Monday, 30 January 2012
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Grasses -the shelter of the seas
We've been acting to protect Florida seagrasses Written by Guest Blogger Friday, 27 January 2012
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View of drilling rig and platforms, approximatelly 1.4 miles from Alabama's Dauphin Island. Photo Written by Raleigh Hoke Thursday, 26 January 2012 |
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This article is excerpted from Wave Maker's News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Written by Cathy Harrelson Wednesday, 25 January 2012 |
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The coastal crisis in Southern Louisiana is at a tipping point. We continue to lose a football Written by Aaron Viles Monday, 23 January 2012 |
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