This was the year. The one in which the Florida legislature was going to get serious about fixing the state’s toxic algae crisis. Actually, I said that last year, when Florida’s elected officials convened on the heels of a devastating 15 months of blue green algae and red tide fouling waterways on both the Gulf […]
Disappointments and small wins: the 2020 FL Legislature Read More »
A spoil bank is the pile of soil and debris left behind by the excavation and dredging machines that dig a trench through the swamp. In coastal Louisiana, all of the pipelines are buried or submerged (as opposed to being built above ground). The method for burying the pipe, then, is to dig an enormous trench. The material from the trench is then dumped right next to the new channel, and suddenly a wall is created that cuts off water and organisms from each other that were connected before. Companies are required by law, according to their permits, to return these spoil banks to their natural state once constructions is complete. However, very few companies comply with this stipulation in their permit leading to a basin filled with spoil banks, limited access to bayous and less productive crawfishing harvests.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline: Field Notes Read More »
[[WRITTEN BY REX SIMMONS, HEALTHY GULF INTERN]] The Helis Foundation, which is the philanthropic entity of Helis Oil & Gas and the William G. Helis estate, frequently touts their contributions to public arts in Louisiana. Helis funds a master’s program at Xavier University for gallery and exhibition management, sponsor sculptures and murals, and even pays
Antenna Art Gallery Partnership: Oil & Gas in the New Orleans Art Community Read More »
This article updates a blog post from 2014 on the oilfield waste deep injection well on land next to Marlan and Deidra Baucum’s home in Laurel, Mississippi. The Jones County Circuit Court decided that it will hear Mrs. Baucum’s claims for damage to her health. She is able to avoid presenting these claims to the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board. This agency process can be a quagmire of delay and frustration for a person making a damage claim due to the actions of a company that the Board regulates.
Baucum oilfield waste injection well lawsuit advances in Laurel, Mississippi Read More »
MDEQ should protect people, and not wedge projects into communities that already have plenty of health and environmental problems to deal with. The August 13th Permit Board meeting was another example of why the MDEQ Environmental Permit Process needs to be examined by the Legislature soon, and made more responsive to the citizens whose health and property are meant to be protected by the agency.
North Gulfport citizens address MDEQ Permit Board on inland rail port Read More »
This is a guest blog from Cameron Bertron, a summer legal extern with Healthy Gulf. Cameron, a 3L at Tulane University Law School, is a Gulf Coast native and enjoyer of all things wetlands except mosquitoes. The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth-largest body of water in the world, and it is in part bordered
Wetlands at the ballot box Read More »
In the wake of Hurricane Barry, a lot of ink was spilled over whether the projections of the storm were too dire or not dire enough, whether the city of New Orleans made the right call to tell people to shelter in place, and whether we can trust the Army Corps to keep us safe.
Hurricane Barry’s wake-up call Read More »
Healthy Gulf’s write-up of the RESTORE Council’s public comment meeting in Long Beach, Ms on their Planning Framework Draft for use in Funded Priority List 3 which will be published sometime in 2020. Comment period on this planning draft is open until June 12th, 2019.
RESTORE Council Planning Framework Draft – Mississippi Public Comment Meeting Read More »
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The Taylor Energy oil spill has been dumping thousands of gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico for more than 14 years. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the longest oil spill in U.S. history is now being contained. Yesterday, Healthy Gulf (formerly Gulf Restoration Network), represented by Earthjustice, was granted a
The federal agency charged with ensuring the protection of worker safety and the environment by companies that develop oil and gas offshore just rolled back key provisions of one of the only real safety improvements implemented by the federal government since the BP disaster — the Well Control and Blowout Preventer Rule. This rule was
Drilling Safety Rules Rolled Back Read More »