Latest Mississippi River Delta News: August 1, 2013

08.01.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

2013 Hurricane Season: Where do we stand?
By Jay Grymes. WAFB (Baton Rouge, La.). July 31, 2013.
“BATON ROUGE, LA – So far, so good.  But a quick review of the 2013 season through the end of July shows that the tropics are off to a relatively busy start in the Atlantic Basin, supporting the pre-season consensus projections for another busy Atlantic Hurricane Season.  Two storms have already visited the Gulf — T.S. Andrea and T.S Barry…” (Read more).

Halliburton will plead guilty Sept. 19 to destruction of evidence in Gulf oil spill
By Mark Schleifstein.  The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.).  July 31, 2013.
“Halliburton Energy Services Inc. pleaded not guilty in federal magistrate court in New Orleans on Wednesday to a single misdemeanor charge of destroying evidence involving employees erasing results of two sets of computer model tests conducted after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster…” (Read more).

Ethics and the BP Claim
By Tom Young. The Legal Examiner (Tampa, Fla.). July 31, 2013.
Much has been made recently about the ethics, or lack thereof, involved in filing a BP claim for a business’s economic loss associated with the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout. While nearly all businesses located in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Florida…” (Read more).

District beefing up Montegut levee
By Nikki Buskey. Houma Courier (Houma, La.). July 31, 2013.
“Work is moving forward to repair a marsh management levee in Montegut that will eventually become part of Terrebonne’s Morganza-to-the-Gulf levee system. The levee was severely damaged during last year’s Hurricane Isaac…” (Read more).

Building A More Resilient Gulf
By Allie Goldstein. Ecosystem Marketplace. July 31, 2013.
“Charlie Broussard, a shrimper on the docks in Cocodrie, Louisiana, has seen the wetlands he paddled through as a kid shift dramatically – literally. In fact, the Louisiana coastline is changing so quickly that fisherman and oil rig workers who have spent their lives navigating the bayou by boat…” (Read more).

Jindal says new levee system ‘changed the water flow’ and hurricane preparation
By Benjamin Alexander-Block. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). July 31, 2013.
“Gov. Bobby Jindal on Wednesday said that Hurricane Isaac last year provided a stern test of the new federal levee system surrounding much of the New Orleans area, and that those improvements “changed the water flow.” During a meeting on hurricane preparation in St. Bernard Parish…” (Read more).

Donelon: Large flood rates could devastate La.
By Ted Griggs.  The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). August 01, 2013.
“Proposed rate increases to the National Flood Insurance Program are so large they pose a threat to the Louisiana economy and could make it nearly impossible for owners to sell thousands of properties that lie outside the New Orleans region’s federal levee system…” (Read more).

Area west of Mississippi River added to impaired waters list
By Amy Wold. The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). July 31, 2013.
“The nation’s top environmental agency has placed the coastline of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River on the list of impaired waterways in Louisiana in what some consider a symbolic move to bring attention to the dead zone problem in the Gulf of Mexico.  The area, covering western Terrebonne Parish…” (Read more).

Protecting the Environment: An Economic Necessity in Texas
By John Michaelson. Texas Public News Service. July 31, 2013.
“AUSTIN, Texas – Industries such as commercial fishing, shipping, and gas and oil often come to mind when thinking about the Texas Gulf Coast – but an even larger economic engine for the region is tourism.  A new analysis finds that people who come to Texas to hunt, fish, hike and camp…” (Read more).

Gulf gas well blowout could spark changes in drilling regulations
By Associated Press. July 31, 2013.
“GULF OF MEXICO — Last week’s blowout on a natural gas rig off the Louisiana coast could shift regulators’ focus to shallow-water drilling and make an overhaul of safety equipment regulations more likely.  The rig, owned by Hercules Offshore and operated under contract to…” (Read more).