Archive for Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force


House Committee Praised for Holding Hearing on Gulf Restoration

December 7, 2011 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Clean Water Act, Congress, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Job Creation, Meetings/Events, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

Hearing follows two new reports recommending Congress use oil spill fines to restore Gulf

(Washington, D.C.—Dec. 7, 2011) Groups supporting restoration of the Gulf Coast today thanked House leaders on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for drawing attention to the benefits of the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 by holding a committee hearing on the bill today at 10am. The RESTORE Act would ensure that fines paid by BP and the other parties responsible for last year’s Gulf oil spill are used to support both environmental and economic restoration in the region, instead of going to unrelated federal spending.

“Holding those responsible for the Gulf oil disaster accountable and making sure the fines they pay go back to the Gulf region is both a matter of fairness and common sense,” said a joint statement by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy and Oxfam America. “We thank Chairman Mica and ranking member Rahall for holding a full committee hearing on this critical issue. Our thanks also go to leaders throughout the Gulf region who are working across the aisle to get this bill passed, so the ecosystems of the Gulf can continue to be a driver of our nation’s economy and a safe home to the communities that make it a national treasure.”

A bipartisan group of nine Gulf senators have introduced a similar bill in the Senate, also called the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act (S. 1400). The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee overwhelmingly approved the bill in September.

Today’s hearing comes on the heels of Monday’s release of the final report by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. It recommends Congress ensure that a “significant portion” of the $5 billion to $21 billion in expected fines for last year’s 4.9 million barrel Gulf oil spill go to restoring the Gulf.

Duke University also released a report on Monday concluding the Gulf oil spill fines could kick start the launch of a long-term investment in ecosystem restoration and create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states.

Contacts:

Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3331, scrowley@edf.org

David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058 dringer@audubon.org

Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org

Heather Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 703.475.1733, hlayman@tnc.org

David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org

Jeffrey Buchanan, Oxfam America, 202.471.3055, jbuchanan@oxfamamerica.org

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Task Force Restoration Strategy is a Vital Next Step Toward Whole Gulf Recovery

December 5, 2011 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Reports, RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act

By Elizabeth Skree and Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund

Today, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force released their final Ecosystem Restoration Strategy for the Gulf Coast.  After the BP oil disaster, the President established the Task Force through an executive order and charged the group with developing a restoration plan for the Gulf Coast.  You can download the strategy document here.

This restoration strategy is a vital step in fulfilling the promises President Obama made in his first oval office address to the nation last June: to recover and restore the Gulf Coast.  Next, the Task Force will be charged with developing an implementation plan for restoring the region.  The restoration plan will require dedicated funding to become a reality, and one avenue to secure that funding is the RESTORE Act.

The RESTORE Act would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the oil spill to Gulf Coast ecosystem and economic restoration.  The Senate version of the bill (S. 1400) has already cleared the Environment and Public Works Committee with strong bipartisan support, but it still needs to pass the full Senate.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing this week (Wednesday, Dec. 7) on the House version of the bill (H.R. 3096).  We urge Congress to keep the momentum going and pass the RESTORE Act, so that environmental and economic restoration can begin in the Gulf States that so desperately need it.

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Task Force Restoration Strategy Important to Coastal Louisiana

November 3, 2011 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Meetings/Events

By Maura Wood, National Wildlife Federation

The preliminary version of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy document was a key agenda item before the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) at its Oct. 19th meeting. The Task Force, established by a presidential Executive Order over a year ago, was charged with drafting a restoration and recovery strategy for the Gulf that addressed impacts from the oil spill as well as the pre-oil spill environmental degradation in the region.

Task Force Executive Director John Hankinson and Deputy Directory Bryon Griffith gave a detailed report of the strategy’s goals and supporting actions. Louisiana CPRA Chairman Garret Graves then spoke about the aspects of the strategy that are of critical importance to Louisiana. If the strategy is enacted and funded by Congress, it could serve to remove or clarify potential obstacles to coastal restoration. For instance, he pointed out that language in the report specifies that restoration be made equal in importance with navigation and flood control. Currently, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is mandated to focus on the latter, with little integration of the former. If adopted, he said, the strategy language could elevate ecosystem restoration priorities within the Corps.

He also referenced recommendations such as using natural river processes for water and sediment distribution—such as sediment diversions—and streamlining methods for drafting partnership agreements and launching projects—a process which currently can delay projects for months, if not years.

Finally, Graves asserted the prime importance of the strategy as an enabling factor and background prerequisite for the success of the 2012 State Master Plan. With the public comment period now closed, the Task Force is charged with writing an Implementation Plan within six months.

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White House Receives Blueprint For Bringing Gulf of Mexico Back to Health

August 1, 2011 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Media Resources, Reports

As Senators consider bill on oil spill penalties, conservationists urge lawmakers to invest fines in Gulf’s natural systems and communities that need them.

(Washington, DC—August 1, 2011) Leading conservation groups working across the Gulf of Mexico have submitted to the White House a blueprint for action that federal, state and local governments can take to restore the region’s threatened natural systems and to help communities that rely on the Gulf for survival.

The groups delivered their recommendations to the Presidential Task Force on Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration, which President Obama created last October by executive order. The task force is facing a one-year deadline this October to develop a comprehensive strategy “to effectively address the damage caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, address the longstanding ecological decline, and begin moving toward a more resilient Gulf Coast ecosystem.”

The timing of the groups’ recommendations, entitled a Strategy for Restoring the Gulf of Mexico, is important. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to soon vote on legislation that would provide funding to implement the Presidential Task Force’s restoration plans. The Senate bill, the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act, would dedicate 80 percent of the oil spill fines to restoring the Gulf’s communities, economies and environments. Under current law, most of the fines will be used for general government spending, rather than being directed towards the Gulf.

The recommendations were submitted by The Nature Conservancy, the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (Texas A&M) University-Corpus Christi, National Audubon Society, Ocean Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. The Presidential Task Force will unveil their final plan for Gulf restoration on Oct. 5.

Among the recommendations included in the blueprint are:

  • Restoration activities should provide both environmental and social benefits.
  • Ensure sufficient delivery of freshwater flows to the Gulf in order to maintain ecological health of bays and estuaries.
  • Restore populations of endangered marine mammals, where their probability of extinction in the next 100 years is less than 1%.
  • Construct and operate a series of large-scale diversions of freshwater and sediment from the Mississippi River sufficient to build and sustain Delta wetlands to provide storm surge protection for people and restore habitat for economically vital fisheries.
  • Implement management plans for oyster reefs that support fish production, water filtration, nitrogen removal, coastal protection and other services that benefit both people and nature.

Even before the oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico faced serious threats from neglect, overdevelopment, pollution, storms, climate change and alteration of the Mississippi River Delta that feeds into the Gulf. Yet the Gulf still is one of the most productive natural areas in the world:

  • The five Gulf states, if considered an individual country, would rank 7th in global Gross Domestic Product (NOAA).
  • The Gulf currently supports a $34 billion per year tourism industry (Oxford Economics), and its fisheries support more than $23 billion in seafood and commercial and recreational fishing-related activity (National Marine Fisheries Service).
  • The Gulf produces roughly 40 percent of all the seafood in the lower 48 states (National Marine Fisheries Service).
  • The region is home to 10 of our nation’s 15 largest ports by tonnage. More than 25 percent of the nation's waterborne exports pass through Louisiana ports alone (American Association of Port Authorities).

The environmental groups that submitted the recommendations pledged to continue working with federal and state lawmakers to ensure action is taken immediately to ensure the Gulf’s productivity can be maintained and in many cases enhanced by bringing the region back to health.

Contacts:

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Tripp to Task Force: Mississippi River Delta Restoration Must Be a Top Priority

June 28, 2011 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Media Resources, Meetings/Events

By Jim Wyerman, Environmental Defense Fund

Environmental Defense Fund's Senior Counsel Jim Tripp yesterday delivered an impassioned plea at the Galveston, Texas public meeting of the President's Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, calling on the multi-agency group to prioritize restoration of the Mississippi River Delta as key to ecological and economic recovery of the region.  After working more than 35 years on Louisiana coastal issues, Tripp brought a seasoned vantage point to the big question of what the task force must do to reverse decades of destruction of our coastal ecosystems.

Satellite images from this spring's historic flood depict the massive amounts of vital sediment found in the Mississippi River. (NASA Aqua Modis, May 17, 2011)

The meeting was led by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, who said a top priority – as well as one of the biggest challenges – of the group will be using the Mississippi River sediment to rebuild Louisiana's wetlands.  Some of the $1 billion BP has designated for Gulf restoration will be used to jump start sediment projects in the Mississippi River Delta, said Jackson.  This will help reconnect the river to its neighboring wetlands, rebuild wildlife habitat and provide storm protection.

Although 83% of the public support allocation of BP oil spill penalties to Gulf restoration, very few people understand the extent to which the Gulf's environment and economy are dependent on the Mississippi River Delta.  Tripp explained how Gulf tourism, oil and gas infrastructure, shipping lanes and commercial fisheries all suffer from the continued degradation of the Mississippi River Delta and its wetlands.  These industries will all benefit from a comprehensive restoration program that reintroduces Mississippi River freshwater and sediment into the Delta's sediment-starved wetlands.

Tripp urged the task force to act quickly to develop a comprehensive recovery plan for the Mississippi River Delta.  In his statement, Tripp proposed the task force focus on the following priorities:

  • Dedicate Clean Water Act penalties from the BP oil spill to Gulf restoration
  • Develop a 21st century management system for the Mississippi River Delta
  • Complete the federal comprehensive restoration plan for coastal Louisiana
  • Ensure that dredged Mississippi River sediments are used beneficially to build new wetlands
  • Expedite restoration by building authorized projects
  • Dedicate New Orleans upgrade mitigation funds for high priority Delta restoration projects
  • Engage private sector firms to expedite restoration program implementation

The task force is charged with integrating federal restoration efforts with local and state efforts and engaging local stakeholders throughout the restoration process.  The group yesterday heard testimony on restoration progress, priorities and unmet needs from Gulf residents, experts and local leaders.

You can read Jim Tripp's statement to the task force in its entirety here.

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Gulf Coast Task Force Sets Restoration Goals, Creates Citizens Advisory Committee

May 9, 2011 | Posted by Elizabeth Skree in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Meetings/Events, Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)

By Derek Brockbank, Environmental Defense Fund/National Audubon Society/National Wildlife Federation

On Friday May 6, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force held a public meeting in Mobile, Al.  President Obama assigned the task force to come up with a strategy for restoring the Gulf to make it better than it was to before the BP oil spill.  It was the third public meeting in the Gulf for the task force, which previously had been held in Pensacola, Fl. and New Orleans, La. (two upcoming meetings will be in Texas and Mississippi).

The meeting began with Alabama Governor Bentley thanking the Obama administration for its support in responding to the recent devastation from the tornados, and recognition that Alabama has been through a lot in the past year, starting with the BP oil spill.  He was very complementary of the work the states and federal agencies had done to secure $1 billion from BP as a down payment toward the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA).  He emphasized the states needed to work together to secure the common goal of restoring the Gulf.

EPA administrator and Task Force Chair Lisa Jackson presided over the meeting and listened to a panel presentation on the four newly-announced areas that the task force will cover in their forthcoming strategy document.  These areas include Community Resilience, Habitat Restoration, Ocean and Marine Conservation and Water Quality.  She also announced the creation of a citizens advisory council to participate in the formation of the restoration strategy.  Many local and national conservation groups had been asking for such an advisory council to ensure that local public input could not be ignored.

The task force will issue their final strategy paper by October 2011, but will likely release a draft sometime this summer.  For the document to do more than join the long list of unfulfilled plans and pipedream goals, it must include specific actions with near-term deadlines and agencies assigned to the outcomes under existing authority.  You can submit comments to the task force here.

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First Meeting of Gulf Restoration Task Emphasizes Action, Inclusiveness, Comprehensiveness

December 1, 2010 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Meetings/Events

By Paul Harrison, Environmental Defense Fund

A packed room of approximately 250 people in Pensacola, Fl. welcomed the first meeting of President Obama’s Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force on Nov. 8th.  Impassioned speeches from Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mimi A. Drew emphasized the environmental, human, and economic need for not only fixing the damage caused directly by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, but also addressing the long-term decline of the Gulf of Mexico wetlands, barrier islands, and deep waters.  Alabama Governor Bob Riley's Chief of Staff emphasized that any solutions must address the economic challenges of the Gulf Coast – with an emphasis on small businesses – including the ones hurt by the oil spill's impacts on tourism and fishing.

The main draw for attendees, however, were presentations by the Task Force's chair, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, and the Task Force’s new Executive Director, John H. Hankinson.  Jackson spoke clearly and passionately about the big issues and challenges facing the effort (you can read her prepared statement here).  She also talked about the importance of expediting construction of existing projects, while planning the full program.  Hankinson introduced the group to his new team – drawn from multiple agencies – and his commitment to the deadlines and goals set out in the President’s Executive Order.

The stated agenda of the meeting – beyond introductions and setting of the Task Force’s agenda – was an opportunity for the community and stakeholders to work with EPA on a plan for regular, detailed two-way communication.  Attendees broke out into facilitated workgroups to brainstorm, and all look forward to EPA putting the ideas it received into a plan for accessing and building the engagement and commitment of the assembled communities and stakeholders.

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Executive Director Named for Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force

November 17, 2010 | Posted by Delta Dispatches in BP Oil Disaster, Federal Policy, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force

On October 25 , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson named John H. Hankinson, Jr. as executive director of the newly-established Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, which President Obama created through an executive order in October.

Hankinson served until recently as board chairman of Audubon of Florida and as southeast regional EPA administrator from 1994 to 2001.  Previously, Hankinson led land acquisition at the St. Johns River Water Management District and was a staff director for the Florida House of Representatives.  A veteran problem solver, he has the skills to bring people together and a strong commitment to coastal conservation.

“John has worked with Audubon through the spill and before to mount an effective response and make a healthy and resilient Gulf Coast a priority,” said Audubon of Florida State Director Eric Draper.

“From our many years working together at EPA, I know John will do an excellent job leading this vital initiative,” said Diane Regas, associate vice president for programs at Environmental Defense Fund.

“We are proud that one of Audubon’s most important leaders is stepping into such an important role in restoring the Gulf,” said Audubon’s Chris Canfield, vice president of Gulf Coast conservation.  “Audubon looks forward to supporting John so that the communities of people and wildlife can heal as quickly as possible.”

“All of the folks and organizations from the national to the local level that love and depend on the Gulf of Mexico must get behind the effort to restore this magnificent resource,” Hankinson said.

Photo courtesy of Audubon of Florida

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