Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Dec. 31, 2013

Hold against the tides
Opinion, The Advocate. Dec. 31, 2013.
“While some may have forgotten the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the people of southwest Louisiana can never forget the devastation of its 2005 sister in destruction, Rita…” (read more).

BP Asks Court to Block Payments Not Directly Linked to Spill
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Calkins, Bloomberg Businessweek. Dec. 30, 2013.
“BP Plc (BP/) asked a federal appeals court to block economic loss payments in its $9.2 billion settlement of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill unless they can be directly linked to the disaster…” (read more).

Louisiana Judge Ends Katrina Flooding Lawsuits Against Feds
By Insurance Journal. Dec. 30, 2013.
“Dozens of lawsuits seeking damages from the federal government for Hurricane Katrina-related levee failures and flooding in the New Orleans area are over…” (read more).

Can the Lower Ninth Ward ever recover from Katrina? [Video]
By PBS Newshour. Dec. 28, 2013.
“Years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, a debate now rages in the city; with so few residents returning to the Lower Ninth, does it even make sense to redevelop the community at all?…” (read more).

Marsh cleanup presents challenges for Coast Guard, state
By Jacob Butte, Houma Courier. Dec. 28, 2013.
“When Mark Kulp first visited the marshes commonly referred to as Middle Ground, what he saw was disastrous for many other miles of the Louisiana shoreline: massive amounts of oil…” (read more).

Wildlife Chief: Oil to be around for a long time
By WWL.com. Dec. 27, 2013.
“Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham believes the Bayou State will be dealing with the after effects from the 2010 BP oil spill for many years to come…” (read more).

Louisiana residents can’t ignore flood risks: Letter
Letter to the editor, The Times-Picayune. Dec. 27, 2013.
“Re: “It’s time to act on flood insurance increases,” Opinions, Dec. 11 Your editorial position to allow residents to deny their real flood risks and delay taking sound mitigating actions will have the effect of dramatically reducing the resilience of New Orleans and its residents…” (read more).

The year in business: BP reports first significant deepwater discovery since the 2010 oil spill
By Jennifer Larino, The Times-Picayune. Dec. 26, 2013.
“Deepwater drilling off the Louisiana coast was back in full swing as domestic oil production surpassed foreign oil imports for the first time in two decades in November. Several oil and gas companies reported major offshore discoveries this year, including Chevron Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of Houston. BP rounded out the year with reports that it had hit a massive oil find offshore, its first since the 2010 oil spill…” (read more).

Christmas trees help fight coastal erosion in Louisiana
By Chevel Johnson, Associated Press. Dec. 25, 2013.
“NEW ORLEANS — In Louisiana, Christmas trees aren’t just for decorating and putting presents under. They’re also being used to restore eroding coastal wetlands…” (read more).

Opinion: Proposed beach hotel and convention center is not an appropriate use of NRDA money
Opinion from the Gulf Restoration Network, AL.com. Dec. 25, 2013.
“(Editor’s note: Mobile attorney Hank Caddell, board chair of the Gulf Restoration Network, made the following remarks during a public hearing before the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees at the RSA Battlehouse last week.)…” (read more).

RESTORE Act Is Key to Flood Insurance Affordability
Commentary by R.J. Lehmann and Daniel M. Rothschild, Roll Call. Dec. 24, 2013.
“The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, passed as part of 2012’s transportation bill, is an important step forward in fixing America’s beleaguered public flood insurance program. For nearly a half-century, taxpayers across the country have been implicitly subsidizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is now $25 billion in the red. The simple fact is that premiums collected aren’t sufficient to cover likely costs, and the program is not sustainable as it is currently structured…” (read more).

Some business claimants shouldn’t be required to prove damage from the BP oil spill, judge rules
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. Dec. 24, 2013.
“Not all businesses filing claims for damages stemming from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill should be required to prove that they were hurt by the spill, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled Tuesday, rejecting a request from the oil giant…” (read more).

DredgeFest Louisiana Set for January 2014
By Dredging Today. Dec. 24, 2013.
“DredgeFest Louisiana workshop, organized by the Dredge Research Collaborative, is scheduled for January 11-17, 2014, in New Orleans and Baton Rouge…” (read more).