Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Aug. 22, 2013

08.22.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

Editorial: BP oil spill dangers persisting
By Editorial Page staff, Tampa Bay Times. Aug. 21, 2013.
“A new study by the University of South Florida underscores the need to continue monitoring the impact of the 2010 BP oil spill. Researchers testing the toxicity of the Gulf of Mexico found that a portion of the spilled oil could have moved southeastward toward the Tampa Bay area, potentially affecting marine life in ways that might not be known for years. This is the latest reminder of the importance of tracking the spill’s long-term impact…” (read more).

Congressmen spar over BP money
By Jordan Blum, The Advocate (Baton Rouge). Aug. 21, 2013.
“WASHINGTON — U.S. Reps. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, sent a letter Wednesday criticizing the Senate Appropriations Committee for proposing to take $10.2 million out of the Gulf Coast recovery pool from the BP oil disaster…” (read more).

The Gulf is Still Struggling, But BP’s Done Paying
By John Light, Moyers & Company. Aug. 21, 2013.
“Three and a half years after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig dumped 205 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, leaving 11 workers dead and damaging hundreds of miles of shoreline, the Gulf Coast is still recovering. And BP, the oil company behind the spill, is no longer willing to foot the bill for the cleanup or to compensate those whose lives were affected…” (read more).

House Republicans raise funding questions on implementation of Restore Act
By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Aug. 21, 2013.
“WASHINGTON – Two Louisiana congressmen Wednesday urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to reconsider a spending bill that allocates $7.4 million in Restore Act funding to help the Treasury Department oversee distribution of the law’s funds to the five Gulf states…” (read more).

Fireworks continue over lawsuit against oil and gas industry
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge). Aug. 22, 2013.
“DULAC — In the latest thrust in a multipronged defense of the oil and gas industry by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration, the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority voted Wednesday to oppose the audacious lawsuit that Southeast Flood Protection Authority – East filed last month against about 100 oil and gas companies for their role in wetland destruction…” (read more).

Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority asks levee board to drop lawsuit
By The Associated Press. Aug. 21, 2013.
“DULAC, Louisiana — The state’s coastal restoration authority voted Wednesday to ask a New Orleans-area flood control board to drop its lawsuit seeking damages from nearly 100 oil and gas companies over coastal erosion allegedly caused by dredging and digging for canals and pipelines…” (read more).

If industry does not pay, we all will
Opinion by Jonathan Henderson, Gulf Restoration Network. The Daily Comet. Aug. 21, 2013.
“Gov. Jindal has a chance to be a great governor for our coast. However, when it comes to paying for restoration, he wants to protect Big Oil from paying its fair share…” (read more).

State coastal authority votes to demand that East Bank levee authority drop its oil, gas, pipeline lawsuit
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Aug. 21, 2013.
“The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Wednesday voted to ask the East Bank levee authority to drop its lawsuit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies that is aimed at getting the energy firms to repair damage done to wetlands and land, or to pay for unrepairable damages, with the money to be used to improve levees…” (read more).

Grand Isle oyster hatchery embarks on new chapter
By Rob Masson, FOX 8 News (New Orleans). Aug. 21, 2013.
“Grand Isle, La. – Oyster production in Louisiana continues to sag since the BP oil spill, but there’s a new effort underway in Grand Isle that could revolutionize an industry that may be ripe for change…” (read more).

Lawsuit Accusations Are Just That
By Don Briggs, The Louisiana Record. Aug. 21, 2013.
“The battle between public opinion and truth is under way. Dozens of editorials, newspaper articles and reports have now been written regarding the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East’s (SLFPAE) accusation that the oil and gas industry has caused massive erosion and land loss for the coast of Louisiana…” (read more).

Polls show Louisianians disappointed with Jindal, blame Obama for post-Katrina response
By Lauren McGaughy, NOLA.com | The Times Picayune (New Orleans). Aug. 21, 2013.
“A little more than one-quarter of Louisianians approve of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s job performance, a new low, according to numbers released by Public Policy Polling on Wednesday. A related poll showed Louisianians aren’t sure whether President Barack Obama or George W. Bush was responsible for the federal government’s “poor” response when levees broke after Hurricane Katrina…” (read more).

Sinkhole renews activity, swallows more trees (Video)
By David Mitchell, The Advocate (Baton Rouge). Aug. 22, 2013.
“The Assumption Parish sinkhole swallowed a sizeable clump of tall cypress in less than a minute Wednesday evening, pulling them down in a frothy swirl that roiled the usually placid surface of the year-old, 24-acre opening in the earth near Bayou Corne…” (read more).

Hurricane Season Enters Prime Time
By Daniel Phillips, KATC-TV (Lafayette, La.). Aug. 21, 2013.
“When it has come to the tropics this season is has been so far, so good. With only five named storms so far, and none of them being hurricanes it has certainly been quieter then some early season forecasts predicted…” (read more).