ADVENTURES IN VICKSBURG: DUMPING THE PUMPS

On Thursday, April 17 we loaded fourteen of us into a van and a car and drove up to Vicksburg for a hearing on the Yazoo Pumps project. Vicksburg is a 3.5 hour drive from New Orleans, so we were prepared for a long day, though I don’t think any of us expected it to be as long as it was.

The public hearing started at 7pm at the Vicksburg Convention Center. As our group sat down, one of our members was tapped on the shoulder by a pumps proponent and told that she wasn’t welcome at the hearing and should leave! It’s that kind of attempted intimidation by proponents that has kept more locals from speaking out against this project.

The EPA kicked off the hearing with a brief presentation on why the Yazoo Pumps project is so damaging, followed by a representative from the Corps who tried to convince everyone the project is sound by using some fuzzy logic. Then it was on to the elected officials.

Governor Haley Barbour’s representative made a comment that people from outside of the Delta region should not be influencing the process because locals wanted the project built. However, if the project were built, those of us living downstream would have to deal with the impacts of losing wetlands that store flood waters and filter water pollutants such as fertilizer and pesticides. It’s also troubling to hear that Mr. Barbour believes that outsiders should not have a say on a in this project given that Mississippi politicians lobbied to get the entire cost of the project paid for by federal taxpayers.

The best part of the hearing was the great diversity of people opposed to the pumps. By my count, 34 people testified in opposition to the pumps, including students, scientists, social justice groups, representatives from hunting and fishing groups, environmental groups, land trusts, and many local citizens who understand that what the Delta needs is better education, infrastructure, and health care, not a pork project that will only benefit a small number of landowners. Attending the hearing was well worth the long drive we had back home, arriving in New Orleans well after 3 am.

The Yazoo Pumps is one of the most wasteful, environmentally destructive taxpayer-funded projects ever conceived. Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt called it the "most cockamamie" project that he had ever heard of. A retired head of the EPA wetlands division recently said, “over my 24 years at the EPA, I never reviewed a project that would do more damage than the Yazoo Pumps project.” There are various estimates of how many acres of wetlands the project would drain which range from 67,000 to over 200,000. No matter which estimate you believe, the destruction would be massive.

Now it’s your turn. If you haven’t sent a comment to the EPA in support of a veto, please do so now by clicking here. Help us achieve what could be one of the most pro-environment decisions to come out of EPA in a long time.

Dump the Pumps!

Jeff Grimes is Assistant Director of Water Resources for the Gulf Restoration Network

STUDENTS UNITED FOR A HEALTHY GULF: MARDI GRAS MADNESS

Friday 5:00pm, the parades are lining up and the city becomes un-navigable.

Of course, this is the time for our local and regional interns and student activists to coalesce at Tulane University to begin a weekend of grassroots organizing training. The local interns, Laney White, Mallory Domingue, and Megan Milliken, make it there along with a big crowd of interested students and our Tulane service learners. With traffic and transportation difficulties, we had yet to see a regional intern. By 6:00pm, the last of the regional interns finally arrives. In spite of everything working against them to get there, everyone is rearing to get started on their environmental advocacy education.

The Students United for a Healthy Gulf Conference brought together students from all over the Gulf to learn about the pressing environmental issues facing the Gulf and how students have the power to affect positive change. The weekend was a great success, and all the students gained the skills and knowledge they will need for a successful semester working with the GRN, and it started them down the path of a lifetime of civic engagement.

Once everyone arrives, I rush off to grab some dinner to bring back while Cyn Sarthou, GRN’s executive director, introduces the organization. As I come back in with po-boys and French fries, Aaron Viles, GRN’s campaign director, is briefing students on the situation facing the coastal wetlands and the Flood Washington campaign he crafted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Next up, Casey Mintzer, a GRN fall semester intern, does a quick intro to the basic principles and tips for public speaking because being able to present your message to large groups of people is a key component of environmental advocacy campaigns. Afterwards, all the students dig into the food before heading off to enjoy a Mardi Gras parade.

Bringing young Gulf conservationists together helps build the sense of community across the region and it creates a movement of engaged and concerned young citizens. With the locals hosting the regional interns, we helped create something that weekend that transcended any one person present, student or GRN staffer.

The next morning we come back together in the same place to begin a full day of training. But first off, we enjoy a delicious breakfast and coffee generously donated by Whole Foods Market. Thanks Whole Foods! In the first briefing of the day, Dan elaborates on the knowledge the students gained the night before by giving a presentation on the Save Our Cypress Campaign, effective campaign strategies, and the campaign’s relevance to wetland restoration and environmental change. After he finishes up, Anat Belasen, a GRN fall intern, discusses the grassroots organizing tool of postcarding and how we utilize postcards to show Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot that there is public support against their sale of cypress mulch. She goes over the keys to successful postcarding and then has the students pair up and practice doing the rap with each other. Due to bad weather, they unfortunately don’t get to take their new skills to the street.

When lunch is done, Sarah Helm, our intern from Texas A&M, bravely stands up and delivers an example of the class rap Casey had demonstrated the night before. Stephanie Powell, GRN Outreach Associate for the Healthy Waters Program, and I begin a skills training on volunteer recruitment and management because engaging volunteers is the best way to build the environmental movement. Our high school volunteer, Sophie Giberga, had really awesome ideas for what makes a good leader. The students all participated in role-playing how to train volunteers to postcard and how to lead an individual meeting with a volunteer. Megan did a great job encouraging her group to get over their initial discomfort. As we wrapped up, Matt Rota, director of the Water Resources Program, came in to talk to students about the pollution that causes a huge part of the Gulf of Mexico to be completely devoid of life every summer and what we can do about it. The training day ends with a briefing on internet organizing. Dan discusses the opportunity the internet provides to educate and activate people and lays out ways the students can raise the visibility of the GRN and its campaign on the web.

The ability to recruit, train, and manage volunteers; talk to community and campus groups and classes; and educate people and advocate for a healthy coast are all essential skills for organizing to protect cypress forests and the Gulf of Mexico. The Students United for a Healthy Gulf Conference did a great job of training young students and activists that they are capable of great things. Each and every one of the participants has now become part of a new generation of environmental activists. You all rock!

The next morning, we all come together again at Tulane to enjoy a tasty free breakfast compliments of Whole Foods and see some of the ecosystem we are all pumped to save. We drive out to Manchac to go on a boat tour with Professor Rob Moreau of SELU. When we arrive, Rob gives us a wetlands presentation specific to Turtle Cove and the Manchac area. It’s a chilly day so all of us bundle up as we head onto the boat. Rob shows us the areas devastated by logging and the loss that continues to take place as a legacy to the logging. As we head back to our cars, we leave with a vision of what could happen to all of the wetlands if people don’t act now.

We encourage you to get engaged. Sign up for our email list, take our e-actions, and join us as a member. Take a line from these students and help us fight for the coast every day.

United for a Healthy Gulf!

Amy Medtlie is an Outreach Associate for the Gulf Restoration Network.

BEST NEWS FOR MISSISSIPPI WETLANDS IN YEARS

February 1 brought some great news - The Environmental Protection Agency is initiating a veto of the Yazoo Pumps project. There are countless individuals and organizations that have worked to stop this project for too many years to count, and it has been a major campaign of the GRN. The Pumps project is unlikely to go away without a fight, and there will be much more work to do yet, but EPA's action is a major, positive step in the right direction.

The Yazoo Pumps project is a major boondoggle that would drain over 200,000 acres of wetlands (roughly the size of New York City including all five boroughs). As the EPA wrote in its letter to the Corps, "The Yazoo Backwater Area contains some of the richest wetland and aquatic resources in the nation, including highly productive fisheries, a highly productive yet increasingly rare bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem, hemispherically important migratory bird foraging grounds, habitat for endangered species, and wetlands providing a suite of important ecological support functions."

The last time the EPA exercised its veto authority to stop a project was in 1989, and George H.W. Bush was president. Of course, the Yazoo Pumps project would destroy 25 times more wetlands than all the projects combined that the EPA has vetoed in the past. We should all be thankful that in this case, the EPA has lived up to its responsibility to protect the environment.

Jeff Grimes is Assistant Director of Water Resources for the GRN

PERMITTING COASTAL DESTRUCTION

The other day, I was looking through the New Orleans Corps of Engineers Website, exploring their Regulatory Department. This is the department that is supposed to enforce the Clean Water Act by making sure our nation's waters and wetlands are not unnecessarily harmed by those that want to dredge, fill, or develop them. However, it becomes very obvious that the Corps thinks that it their primary role is to grant permits, not necessarily protect our wetlands. This is made obvious by their permitting FAQ, that states:

Q. Why should I waste my time and yours by applying for a permit when you probably won't let me do the work anyway?

A. Nationwide, only three percent of all requests for permits are denied. Those few applicants who have been denied permits usually have refused to change the design, timing, or location of the proposed activity. When a permit is denied, an applicant may redesign the project and submit a new application. To avoid unnecessary delays pre-application conferences, particularly for applications for major activities, are recommended. The Corps will endeavor to give you helpful information, including factors which will be considered during the public interest review, and alternatives to consider that may prove to be useful in designing a project.

So, the Corps approves 97% of all of the permits that they see! And they seem very proud of this fact. Under the Clean Water Act, the Corps is supposed to first, and foremost, avoid unnecessary wetland impacts, and I don't see how a 97% permit approval rate reflects this. This demonstrates that the Corps is in serious need of reform--the agency that is in charge of repairing our disappearing Gulf Coast wetlands is at the same time facilitating their destruction, one permit at a time.

Matt Rota is the GRN Water Resources Program Director

THE YAZOO PUMPS AND THE CORPS' DIZZYING RESPONSE

Our members who took action on the recent Yazoo Pumps alert have all received a surprise in the mail. It seems that the Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg is sending a response letter to everyone who took action, stating that "project opponents" have been publishing misleading information about the project, and that the Yazoo Pumps project will actually improve the environment and lead to increased wetlands.

Unfortunately, the true impact of the Yazoo Pumps is anything but positive and the Corps has been trying to put an upbeat spin on one of the greatest boondoggles ever conceived. Independent government agencies that have reviewed the Yazoo Pumps project have concurred with our assessment that the project would destroy a staggering amount of wetlands and important wildlife habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently stated very diplomatically, "We're concerned that the negative impacts of this project on fish and wildlife is larger than the Corps acknowledges."

Over 540 independent wetland and aquatic scientists from throughout the country have also determined that the Yazoo Pumps would lead to tremendous wetland loss and that the Corps will be unable to mitigate for that loss. In a recent letter in The New York Times, the former Director of the EPA Wetlands Division wrote, "Over the course of my 24 years at the Environmental Protection Agency, I never reviewed a proposal that would do more damage to the environment than the Yazoo Pumps project in the Mississippi Delta."

It is unfortunate that the Army Corps is taking this unusual step of trying to promote this project that would destroy more wetlands than are lost to development in the entire country in one year. It is important that we keep the pressure up to stop this project and fight the misleading spin coming out of the Corps of Engineers public relations office. If you have already taken action, please take a moment to forward the alert on to five friends, family, or colleagues who care about the health of our Gulf as well.

Jeff Grimes is Assistant Director of Water Resources for the Gulf Restoration Network

CONFLICTED CORPS

I had a lawyer friend once who lived by the motto “sue early, sue often.” I’m not sure if that is what I want on my tombstone, but I admired the dedication. Usually in the course of human events it is better to resolve something without litigation and the courts. With that said sometimes something is so egregious that its time to head on down to the courthouse and seek some justice.

It is hard to figure out the Army Corps in Florida these days. Are they the champions of Everglades restoration? Or are they the “Dredge and Fill” Corp? The Corps has promised changes and a new way in Florida, but from where I sit the permit approvals to destroy wetlands still flow out of the Corp office in Jacksonville like money flows to a corrupt politician.

On Monday Oct. 1st, 2007 the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action and Gulf Restoration Network filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. against the Army Corp and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for violations of federal environmental laws by issuing a section 404 permit to the developers on the Cypress Creek Town Center project (Case No. 07-CV-01756). We are suing to require that impacts to the endangered species, wetlands and our waters be avoided and minimized. We are suing because federal agencies, both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fundamentally failed the people of Tampa Bay, and the wetlands and wildlife of Tampa Bay. We are suing because nature only made one Cypress Creek and it is a beautiful place.

When we filed suit Denise Layne of the Sierra Club noted that “350 acres of concrete on a 550 acre site containing huge wetlands, creek and recharge areas is a crying shame. The ecosystem on this property has been the home to all kinds of threatened and endangered species which need the wetlands and a healthy creek system to survive. And, speaking of water…the land clearing has already polluted the creek, an Outstanding Florida Water. We have no faith in this permit protecting this exquisite piece of property as required by federal laws.”

GRN was drawn to this case because of the impact this project will have and has had on threatened and endangered species, and the wetlands systems they depend on. The Army Corps of Engineers has fundamentally failed to protect threatened and endangered species, failed to protect wetlands and Cypress Creek, and failed to protect water quality for regional residents. Citizens in the Tampa Bay region expect and deserve better from the government agencies charged with protecting our environment. We’re in court and working on the ground to make sure that this happens.

Joe Murphy is the Florida Program Coordinator for GRN.

HOME COOKIN' AND AGITATIN' FOR THE COAST

So the results are pouring in. Over 100 GRN e-activists from all across the country (and Germany) stepped up for the Louisiana coast and our wetlands and opened their homes to friends, family and colleagues in order to drop some knowledge about our land-loss crisis (and maybe serve up some home cooked red beans and rice). Click the flickr screenshot to see the map and photos of some of our reported events). Thanks to all our hosts - who generated some great media and great support for the coastal cause.

Two years and 217 + square miles of coastal marsh ago, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita roared ashore and changed life as we know it here in New Orleans, and throughout much of the Central Gulf Coast. These storms brought many of the issues that the GRN has been tackling for 14 years or so into far sharper relief: the prioritization and effectiveness of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, water pollution, coastal development and coastal wetlands protection and restoration.

We've endeavored to grab ahold of the teachable moment that the devastating hurricane season of 2005 represents in order to let people know that restoring our coast isn't just about shrimp & redfish, or crawfish & cypress - it's about the very survival of New Orleans and our coastal communities. As the research mounts, demonstrating that every 3.4 miles of intact coastal wetlands a storm travels over knocks down its surge by one foot, it doesn't take overwhelming vision to understand the real, immediate value of these marshes.

Through the home screenings of Louisiana Public Broadcasting and award-winning independent producer Christina Melton's documentary Washing Away: Losing Louisiana, our e-activists helped spread that message.

Here at the GRN, we have a saying: “Protect our wetlands, protect ourselves.” Unfortunately, protecting and restoring these wetlands is a job that’s beyond gutting houses and putting up sheetrock. A few church groups from the Midwest aren’t really going to be able to make a dent in this one. We need to put the Mississippi River, and its fresh water and sediment, to work. We need the river to sustain and rebuild our coast. That’s big engineering. That’s big expense. That’s the federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (gulp).

Louisiana coastal experts and the Corps have developed and are further developing the plans to sustain the coast. But plans are cheap – it’s the actual projects and engineering that run to $50 billion. About $2 billion in projects would be authorized by the current Water Resources Development Act (WRDA, say “WurDuh” if you want to sound like a DC insider). The problem dear reader, is that in a hail Mary to recapture the right, President Bush has threatened to veto WRDA, citing its expense. He says pork, we say future of our region. Of course he also once said he would “do whatever it takes” to make New Orleans and South Louisiana rise again.

We’re faced with a significant political challenge that despite hard work and the best of intentions (let alone federally marked cash in the freezer, a phone number on the DC Madame’s speed dial, and a staggering road home shortfall) Louisiana’s congressional delegation won’t be able to tackle on their own. This is why the home screenings were so critical, and worth the time and effort. We need help from elsewhere. We need your friends and family who think you’re crazy for living here (but clamoring for your guest room during Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest) to clue in their members of Congress and remind the President of his pledge.

Now’s the time to act, as Congress is just getting back from their August recess and we really need them to pass WRDA in the Senate and work to override the President’s veto, or we simply kiss New Orleans and South Louisiana goodbye.

Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director

PRAY FOR THE PREY: GRN STAFF SUMMER BOOK REVIEW
THE MOST IMPORTANT FISH IN THE SEA BY H. BRUCE FRANKLIN

The Gulf of Mexico as a region is frequently forced to deal with ecological catastrophes from which the rest of the country can learn. Cases in point would be Louisiana’s staggering coastal land loss, and the dead zone created by nutrient pollution from the Mississippi River. These massive problems point researchers to the lessons of excess nitrogen and phosphorus in marine ecosystems, and the important roles that natural sediment and fresh/saltwater regimes play in maintaining estuarine wetlands.

It’s a less frequent occurrence when those who manage our natural resources can look to other parts of the country and learn from their mistakes. In H. Bruce Franklin’s “The Most Important Fish in the Sea,” that’s exactly the opportunity that is presented, in the form of an exhaustive chronicle of a modest fish.

Following the boom-bust economic/ecological history of menhaden (or alewives, or moss-bunkers, or in the Gulf the fish known as pogies) up and down the Atlantic Coast, this book underscores again and again the role the fish play in a functioning ecosystem: as forage for predatory fish, birds, marine mammals and sharks; and as filter feeders, challenging even oysters in their ability to clean waters of excess nutrients and algae. That ecological role is underscored in the face of seemingly thoughtless commercial exploitation, first for fertilizer, then for oil, finally for a mix of feed for farm animals and aquaculture, oil for health supplements and some pet foods.

As the industry fished this species again and again to regional population collapses, driven by an ever-more efficient fleet of airplane-guided purse seines, people finally began to catch on to the impact. Few would complain about the absence of menhaden, as it’s a fish no one eats, but the absence of menhaden began to have impacts to other strands in the food web once anchored by this oily fish, and as striped bass began to show signs of stress due to lack of their primary forage, recreational fishermen in the Atlantic grew concerned. As this concern fueled political opposition to the fishery, states began to close their waters to this near-monopoly, and the industry turned toward the Gulf.

Now the second largest fishery by weight in the U.S., most menhaden are caught in Gulf waters. More precisely, due to net bans in Florida and Alabama, most menhaden are caught in Mississippi, Louisiana, and some Texas waters. With a processing plant in Empire, LA, Daybrook Fisheries is the smaller force in the industry, dwarfed by Omega Protein which owns processing plants in Moss Point, MS and Abbeville, and Cameron, LA. Despite the size of the harvest, and the efficiency of the fleet, there currently exist no annual catch limits for the Gulf menhaden fishery. Within the industry’s self appointed summer season, they catch what they can find.

Of course some of what they find within a menhaden school aren’t solely the prey, but sometimes the predator. In the very little amount of information the industry has ever allowed off the deck of a menhaden boat, researchers have reported shark bycatch as high as 148 blacktip and spinner sharks caught in a single purse seine set. In addition to sharks, fishermen have reported the disappearance of dolphins for weeks at a time after the menhaden fleet visits their waters.

In our region it’s not striped bass that recreational fisherman would be watching closely, but our popular spotted seatrout (specks) and red drum (redfish) both eat menhaden, which is why it is such an effective bait. As much as 95% of the spring redfish diet can consist of menhaden.

While our Gulf ecosystem struggles with vanishing wetlands and a seemingly endless dead zone, we may be wise to pay close attention to the troubling tale of menhaden over exploitation on the Atlantic Coast that Mr. Franklin’s book shares with us, and look at the role that menhaden play in those larger, more immediate concerns. What will happen to the estuarine-dependent menhaden schools as the coastal wetlands dissolve, and how can a robust, historic population of menhaden help mitigate the algae driven dead zone? While we don’t know the answer to these questions, it seems highly reasonable to being asking them more forcefully.

Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director

GRN STAFF SUMMER BOOK REVIEW:
PINHOOK: FINDING WHOLENESS IN A FRAGMENTED LAND BY JANISSE RAY

The third installment of the book review features a book by one of my favorite authors about the region and ecosystems from my childhood. It keeps with the Florida theme that Joe and Jeff began. This time however, we’re venturing beyond the Florida border to investigate the ecological similarity and connectedness between South Georgia and North Florida.

Hailing from Baxley, Georgia, Janisse Ray is an amazing author, dedicated environmental activist, and inspiring southern woman. In Pinhook, she takes us on a journey into a land she describes as “too deep for a human to wade in, too shallow for a boat to draw,” and “a place that holds the world together.” Located in North Florida, Pinhook Swamp connects Okenfenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Osceola National Forest.

The book wonderfully mixes ecology, history and culture into the exploration of the beautiful wilds of Florida. The reader journeys through the swamp fighting through smilax, green briar, blueberry, Virginia willow and passing by slash pines, pond pines, saw palmetto. In the drier areas encounters long leaf pine.

The reader gets to enjoy a taste of North Florida culture through Ray's conversations with locals hanging out at the Taylor Store. She also introduces the reader to people like Larry Harris, the biologist who first proposed the Pinhook Corridor and Larry Thompson who helped spur the formation of the POGO Coalition dedicated to protecting the Pinhook, Osceola, Greater Okefenokee (POGO) ecosystem.

Ray explains the threats that come from fragmenting ecosystems and helps the reader understand why wildlife corridors are essential. She explains that “for a corridor to be of utmost service, it should provide the accoutrements for a creature’s survival, not just conveyance. Corridors are not wild highways.” We cannot just set aside narrow passage ways for animals to move quickly across, but rather large swaths of land that can sustain populations as they journey across ecosystems.

What I love most about Pinhook, or perhaps the character of its author, is that it ends with a strong call to action. The final chapter “A Vision” calls for the protection of the remaining acres of Pinhook Swamp. Ray urges the reader to envision and work towards a world where Pinhook and all of our other wild lands are protected. The final pages of the book are resource pages containing the contact information for different environmental and conservation groups. A list of rare and imperiled species in the Okefenokee - Pinhook - Osceola Wildland Corridor.

I recommend Pinhook for people who want to learn more about our southern swamps and wetlands, the plants and animals that live in them, and the struggle to protect these unique and important ecosystems. I also highly recommend Janisse Ray’s first book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.

Stephanie Powell is the Outreach Associate for the GRN's Water Resources Program.

FUTURE OF HANCOCK COUNTY COAST IN JEOPARDY

The GRN is proud to be a network of local, regional and national conservation and community groups committed to protecting and restoring the resources of the Gulf Region for future generations.

This blog posting comes from Ellis Anderson of GRN member group Coastal Community Watch in Hancock County, MS.

In May 2005 – just a few months before Katrina - the Hancock County (MS) Board of Supervisors rezoned 1,100 acres of critical coastal wetlands around Bayou Caddy to permit large-scale commercial development, without any height or density restrictions. The Board took this unprecedented action to enable construction of a high-rise resort “city.”

Artist Rendering from Paradise Properties Brochure

This “city” would contain 10,000 condo units in multiple high-rise buildings - the tallest of which would be 450 feet. A golf course and several other casinos are also proposed for this area of protective coastal wetlands.

The County Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of the zoning change, despite the opposition of a standing-room-only crowd of citizens. Three days later, the Hancock Planning and Zoning board gave site plan approval to several high-rise developments. A news report later revealed that one enterprising company had actually advertised and taken reservations for one of the high-rise developments – while the public hearings on the zoning change were taking place.

Ten days after the zoning vote, residents of the area filed an appeal. They were supported in this appeal by Coastal Community Watch, a regional group in favor of “Smart Growth.” Oral arguments on the appeal will be presented to the Mississippi Supreme Court on July 31, 2007. You can read the appeal here.

Local Concerns are Many and Remain Unanswered

1. While efforts are underway in Louisiana to restore coastal wetlands for hurricane protection, why are wetlands - vital to the Katrina ravaged coast of Mississippi - being considered for high-density development?
2. What infrastructure costs would residents be required to bear?
3. What are the potential ramifications to the cities of Waveland and Bay St. Louis regarding insurance costs, property tax increases, crime, and community character?
4. How would the beach road handle the traffic of 10,000 residents living in the resort district, in addition to day-traffic to the casinos?
5. What impact would development of this magnitude have on the family-oriented communities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland.

Wetlands Fill Violation

While the zoning appeal waits for a high court decision, one 2.7 acre section of wetlands critical to hurricane surge protection and marine habitat has already been filled, apparently for a high-rise development.The owner applied for a fill permit in 2002, which was granted specifically to expand a seafood operation under the argument that the operation is “water dependent” and must be sited next to the water. When the wetlands were filled in early 2006.

1. The permit had expired.
2. A sign was posted at the site advertising the proposed high-rise towers, indicating that the purpose of the fill had changed.
3. Required wetland mitigation had not been completed.
4. Proper controls to prevent sediment pollution were apparently not taken.

The Corps issued a cease and desist order in October 2006. They may choose to enforce severe penalties and require the owner to restore the wetlands - or they can issue an “after-the-fact” permit – which would involve no penalty for the wetland destruction.

In a recent letter, Gulf Restoration Network wrote to “urge the Corps to require that the owner remove the fill that was deposited. This fill continues to pollute nearby waters because there is no existing sediment control. Issuance of an after-the-fact permit in this case is unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to those who violate wetland regulations.”

Ellis Anderson is a member of Coastal Community Watch

STREAMLINING WETLAND DESTRUCTION

Less than two years after Katrina devastated Gulf Coast communities, the Mobile District of the Army Corps of Engineers seems to have forgotten the importance wetlands serve in protecting communities from flooding and storm surge. The evidence came last fall when the Corps released its draft Regional General Permit. Many of you probably remember sending comments urging the Corps to abandon its irresponsible proposal to streamline and remove public comment for wetland fills up to 5 acres.

Well they listened, kind of…In response to the thousands of people who sent concerns around the original proposal, the Corps shrank the size to 3 acres. Let me remind you, 3 acres is still 6 times the national precedent. We're talking roughly the size of three football fields. Take 10, 25, 50 different projects and the acres start to add up. Realizing the second draft was just as absurd as the first, 1,450 GRN supporters sent comments to the Corps urging it to give up the wetland fill game. In both rounds of public comment citizens requested public hearings to voice their concerns and present evidence for the Corps to consider.

On Friday, without scheduling a public hearing, the Corps released the final version of the Regional General Permit. I wish I could say that I am shocked that such a thing would happen, but I’m not surprised. This is the same division that cannot competently enforce wetland protection laws and requires citizens and citizen groups to take matters into their own hands.

The release of the Regional General Permit last Friday highlights once again the lack of Corps consistency community members and non-profits have been lamenting for decades. Following the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program, I was excited to see that preserving existing wetlands and restoring historic wetlands were part of the Corps’ plan. The counties with proposed wetland restoration are the same that fall prey to the newly released Regional General Permit!

Community members are told of the importance of protecting and restoring wetlands, yet they are given a policy that takes away their voice in the process of determining which wetlands get destroyed. To echo Mississippi attorney and GRN board member Robert Wiygul, "I feel safe saying there are a lot of citizens and groups looking very hard at a court challenge to this decision."

Protect Our Wetlands, Protect Ourselves.

Stephanie Powell is the Outreach Associate for the Gulf Restoration Network's Water Resources Program.

THE JOYS OF SEWAGE

Throughout Southern Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has been promoting “wetland assimilation” projects as a potential low-cost alternative for waste water treatment. In these projects, treated and disinfected wastewater is released into existing wetlands instead of local streams. While I am supportive of beneficial use of waste, I have witnessed some causes for concern related to one of these projects near Hammond. One issue with this project is that the wastewater treatment facility has been violating its permit since the new plant and assimilation project went on-line in December. The violations include high levels of “BOD” or biochemical oxygen demand. These high levels of BOD result in the reduction of oxygen in the receiving waters, and increased odors. Residents near this facility have been complaining about these odors since the plant went on-line.

I guess the way I feel is that LDEQ and area municipalities are becoming a bit overzealous in promoting these assimilation projects. This project was designed with the assumption that the plant would work properly, but with these consistent violations, I can’t help but wonder about the long and short term effects on the wetland.

Recently Hammond has been taking steps to correct their BOD problems, and have met their permit limits the past couple of weeks. While this has been a long time coming, I hope this continues—for the wetlands, the municipality, and for the citizens that have been living with an awful stench for several months.

Matt Rota is the Director of the GRN's Water Resource Program

THE STATE, THE FEDS, & COASTING ON OUR COAST

As the sense of urgency for coastal restoration runs head-long into state and federal bureaucracy and land-owner issues, GRN board member Mark Davis weighs in:
---------

Someone once said that there are no bigger gaps on this planet than the ones between words and deeds. I was reminded of that as I was reading the State’s recent draft Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast and the White House’s draft Statement of Administration Policy concerning the Water Resources Development Act which is pending in Congress now.

I was struck, pleasantly, by the language in both that spoke of the need to expand the effort to restore our coast and of the need to revisit massive levee projects to ensure that they fit our current needs and reflect the lessons taught by the storms of 2005. There is even language in the State plan about the need for smart growth and strict enforcement of zoning laws. Wow.

But then there are the deeds. I am not one of those who actually thought we would be seeing detailed statements from Baton Rouge and Washington mapping out just how we can save our coast and protect our people. At this stage I don’t see how that would be possible. What I do think is fair to expect is an honest game plan for moving forward that would yield the answers to the tough questions that stand between us and a future that contains safe communities and a functioning coast. It is that one deed that everything else depends on and we haven’t got it. The gap is yawning.

The State plan is supposed to be a three-legged stool. Storm protection is one leg, coastal restoration is another leg, and smart growth is the third. But the State’s draft plan, at last reading, seems to describe a stool with one and a half legs. I can’t help but think that the levee lines drawn across vast tracts of marshes and the reliance on catch-phrases such as “leaky levees” and “adaptive management” are rooted more in the needs and desires of civic boosters and of officials who will be facing voters than anything else. I understand that and there’s nothing wrong with it if those pieces of the plan actually add up to real and honest protection and fit with needs of a sustainable coast. There’s another one of those gaps though. The fact is, it appears that the coast is secondary to structural storm protection and that there is no game plan to move the ball on the smart growth front. Thankfully, there were strong voices pointing these points out and the State may yet address them. Let’s hope so but nobody can afford to assume it.

Things are no different on the federal side. First, a few givens. Number one, the Water Resources Development Act is and likely always will be a pork-fest with lots of things in it to object to. Number two, there are legitimate questions about nearly every major project up for authorization in the bill. Number three, there are some water projects and programs that need to be authorized one way or another. The White House policy statement admirably aims to trim the cost of the WRDA bill. It also notes how important it is to expand the effort to save our coast and to be sure that new levees apply the lessons taught by Katrina and Rita. But then, tragically, it drops the ball. Instead of suggesting ways of expanding and expediting coastal restoration, it calls for lowering the authorization by $700 million and for increasing the State cost share from 35% to 50%. That should speed things up.

With respect to storm protection, it seizes on concerns that have been raised about hurricane levees but suggests eliminating them from the bill but without any mechanism for addressing the concerns.

In short the message I get is, “tough luck kid, we’d like to help but we have a war to fight and tax cuts to keep.” Not the stuff of greatness. But should I be surprised? The more I think about it the more convinced I am that if I want those gaps filled I have to make it my job to make success their job.

Mark Davis is the Director of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources, Law & Policy, and has served on the GRN Board as both Chair and Treasurer.

A "Comprehensive" Coastal Plan

This past Wednesday evening, I jumped on the Elysian Fields bus in New Orleans and headed to the University of New Orleans to attend one of the four public hearings regarding the draft Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. The idea of this meeting was to give the public an opportunity to hear a brief presentation on the draft plan, and comment on it. The different state and federal agencies and politicians showed up in droves, but there only seemed to be twenty or so other members of the public at this meeting. The few fishermen, landowners, and other citizens that were there voiced their concerns with the plan—many focusing on the urgency of repairing our barrier islands, as our “first line of defense.”

As Aaron posted earlier, there are questions that must be addressed in order to be truly Comprehensive. The beginning of the plan outlines four objectives for the plan: 1) Reduce risk to economic assets, 2) Restore sustainability to the coastal ecosystem, 3) Maintain a diverse array of habitats for fish and wildlife, and 4) Sustain Louisiana’s unique heritage and culture. Admirable goals, but after looking at this new draft, there is still an emphasis on structural solutions, i.e. levees and floodgates. While I recognize that we live in an engineered environment here in Southeast Louisiana, we must focus on the most natural of solutions to saving our coast and communities. One of these structural “solutions” continues to be “leaky levees.” While this plan does recognize some of the scientific uncertainties regarding these levees, there are still huge lines in their maps that delineate levees slicing through huge areas of wetlands. It is folly to assume that if these levees are “leaky,” they will maintain the natural hydrology of the wetlands behind them. Before Louisiana citizens put their faith in these levees, there must be an independent review of the science behind them. Better yet, let's not build these levees through our wetlands and leave the wetlands in front of these levees, as these wetlands are yet another one of our "multiple lines of defense."

When I got up to the microphone for my five minutes of comments, I used them to talk about leaky levees and the “Donaldson to the Gulf” project.” This is a stretch of proposed levees that have been talked about by the Corps for a long time; in fact I just attended a meeting about this project a few weeks ago at the New Orleans Corps office. At that meeting, the Corps presented various alignments of these levees, however in the comprehensive plan meeting this past Wednesday, they mapped out only one of these alignments, calling it a “representative alignment to increase protection.” This alignment also happened to be the most destructive of all of the alignments, walling off thousands of acres of wetlands, and isolating them from any existing contact with the Gulf’s hydrology. The preparers of the comprehensive plan are doing Louisiana a great disservice by not showing the public that there are less ecologically destructive ways to give Southern Louisiana the storm protection that it wants.

It is not too late for the public to send in comments! To to review the draft plan and send in comments, visit this site. Comments are due April 2, 2007.

Matt Rota is the GRN's Water Resources Program Director

LOUISIANA'S COASTAL CRISIS HITS YAHOO NEWS

Last October, Yahoo's Assignment Earth headed down to NOLA to get the story about Louisiana's coast- the problem, the solutions, and a sense of the urgency.

I worked with producer Peter White to get the story, which has finally shown up!

It has some great interviews with University of New Orleans Coastal Geology expert Shea Penland, Tulane University's Enviro Law Guru Oliver Houck (check out his provacative "Can We Save New Orleans?" treatise here), and a really cool flyover of the MRGO piloted by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation's Executive Director Carlton Dufrechou (if you look carefully you'll see a telling shot of degraded wetlands with the telling 'wheel spoke' impressions left behind from dragging cypress trees through the marsh as they logged out these critical natural storm defenses).

It also features interviews with Louisiana's official point people on our restoration efforts - Sidney Coffee and Randy Hanchey. Sidney, who as Chair of the Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority (CPRA) recently delivered to the State the draft Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection - Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. Hearings on this document and plan are this week - scroll down for a post with the dates and times - I'll be heading out to UNO tonight to offer my $.02, and hear what others have to say.

Hopefully, news pieces such as this Yahoo video will help tell the nation what's occuring on our coast, and how critical grassroots support for this fix is.


Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director

The Misguided Wetland Plan that Won’t Go Away

Last October, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposed to make it easier to destroy wetlands up to five acres in size in coastal Mississippi. After much negative press, criticism, and over 7,500 comments from individuals opposed to the plan, it appears the Corps is going to do something different.

Word is that instead of proceeding with its original proposal, the Corps is going to be coming out with a new proposal that will look very different. Those who have worked hard to oppose the plan should feel good that the Corps is going back to the drawing board. Yet, it is unclear what the new proposal might contain, and as they say, the devil is in the details. For that reason, we must remain vigilant because any plan that makes it easier to fill wetlands and removes the public’s oversight role is just plain bad public policy.

In related news, the other day I came across a set of comments submitted by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and obtained by Greenwire in support of the Corps’ wetland plan in Mississippi. Because the NABH is one of the few supporters of the plan, I was interested to see what they were saying. To my surprise, there was a section at the end that had been intended for deletion, but remained in the margins as a comment. Here’s what it said:

“Final note: we don’t say much in here about ensuring environmental protection. If something comes to mind, it probably makes sense to include it in a place or two so that it looks like we are supporting streamlining plus appropriate env. protection…”

This quote is telling because we have continually heard from developers that the proposed regional general permit merely improves the permitting process and will not harm wetlands. However, if a major proponent is having a difficult time making the argument that this plan protects the environment, we should all be concerned.

Jeff Grimes is Assistant Director of Water Resources for the Gulf Restoration Network.

MUD, SPARTINA, AND FUN

Normally when I hear the word wetland, I think “Oh lord, what terrible project or permit has the Corps proposed now.” Then I think about communities losing flood protection, habitat destruction, fisheries being compromised, natural pollution filtration destroyed…the list goes on and on. This weekend, however, I got to think about something else—fun!

As part of the Restore America’s Estuaries Conference, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana organized a great habitat restoration project along Bayou St. John in City Park. Ecologists, conservation biologists, lobbyists, master gardeners, grade-schoolers, out of towners and townies all came together in City Park for a day of mud, Spartina, and fun.

Matt Rota and I joined over 200 people from 22 states and 6 nations in an afternoon dedicated to stabilizing coastal soils, clearing storm damage debris, improving fish and wildlife habitat, and—my favorite—educating volunteers about the region's coastal land loss issues.

It felt great to be covered in muck, standing shoulder to shoulder with so many passionate folks, dedicated to restoring and protecting such an important natural resource. It made me think: not only do wetlands protect our communities, they bring communities together. Wetlands are an essential (or perhaps, the quintessential) part of our culture and our identities as New Orleanians, Louisianans, and Gulf Coasters.

A culture that gives us dishes like the Alligator Sauce Piquant that stewed in huge pots ready to feed the droves of hungry volunteers that had worked up an appetite. (Despite the Cajun cook’s rather convincing argument that alligator is fish—I ate my piquant sans crocodile.)

While eating I realized that when I returned to the office Monday morning, there’d probably be another wetland fill project to fight. But the sight of hundreds of muddy comrades reminded me that there is a ray of hope shining through the ominous clouds. With enough people, one day we will put a stop to the destruction and will restore all of our natural treasures!

Stephanie Powell is the GRN's Outreach Associate

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Disinformation Campaign

After proposing an irresponsible and unprecedented Regional General permit for southern Mississippi, which would allow vastly increased wetland destruction, here is what the Corps has to say for itself in a recent press release issued by the Mobile District Office….

"Based on the comments we have received, there appears to be a misunderstanding of what is being proposed,” said E. Patrick Robbins, Public Affairs Officer. “The proposal, and at this time that is all it is, only streamlines what is normally required to get a permit. It does not change any of the requirements.”

Later in the press release:
“What [national and regional general permits] do provide for is an analysis which says IF, and note that’s a capital IF, the applicant has met all the requirements and it has been validated that they have, the 30 day public notice and individual Environmental Assessment won’t be required.”

Using the Corps’ own language, lets look at how these two statements contradict one another:
First they say, “It does not change any of the requirements.”
Then they say, “the 30 day public notice and individual Environmental Assessment won’t be required.”

After the important lessons we learned last year about the role wetlands play in flood protection, I have a hard time understanding why the Corps would want to “streamline” wetland destruction.

It’s time for communities to stand up and say no new wetland destruction! If you haven’t already, urge the Mobile District to abandon its flawed Regional General Permit.

Click here to send a letter to the Corps.

Also, check out the latest edition of Wave Maker’s News, the entire issue is dedicated to wetlands and wetland protection!

Stephanie Powell is GRN’s Outreach Associate, working to protect healthy waters and wetlands.

MISSISSIPPI NEEDS WETLANDS, TOO

Check out today's editorial in the T-P.

The Army Corps is proposing to trash policy protecting wetlands in Mississippi. To add salt to the wound, they're doing so under the guise of hurricane recovery, despite the fact it does nothing but put our coastal communities at greater risk. Even worse, it would set a horrible precedent for protecting wetlands throughout the rest of the nation.

The GRN is working hard with community groups and other organizations to stop such a horrible proposal from being implemented. And, we're glad to see support from the Times-Picayune.

Dan Favre is the GRN's Campaign Organizer.

PAVING MISSISSIPPI

I am really becoming discouraged by state and federal governments’ response to rebuilding along the Gulf Coast.

Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to rebuild communities, both in Louisiana and Mississippi, the right way, they seem to feel it is an opportunity to waive environmental laws and remove what they see as less desirable populations. Take for example the Mobile District of the Corps of Engineers recent issuance of a draft regional permit for coastal Mississippi that would allow filling of 5 acres of wetland for virtually any development with the need for a permit or any agency review. MSNBC published a great article today on this issue.

Even though we