Coalition Challenges Feds to Eliminate Barriers
to Coastal Sustainability
Click Here to download the Report »
WASHINGTON DC (November 4, 2009) — A coalition of state leaders, industry and national environmental organizations released a definitive report today calling on Congress and senior Obama administration officials to resolve the maze of bureaucratic roadblocks that threaten the long-term sustainability of America’s Energy Coast (AEC), the four Gulf state region of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The AEC provides 90% of our domestic offshore oil and gas supply and is tied to 50% of the nation’s total refining capacity, yet the erosion of shoreline, barrier islands and wetlands across the region poses an immediate risk to millions of people, marine and animal species and significant economic interests.
Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC, where the report was released in conjunction with the 3rd Annual AEC Policy Forum, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said, “We cannot afford to ignore the economic and environmental calamity that is looming with the ongoing deterioration of America’s Energy Coast. Billions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure and a vast ecosystem are at stake.”
The report, entitled Region at Risk: Preventing the Loss of Vital National Assets, describes the significance and uniqueness of the Gulf Coast, identifies major threats facing the region and outlines steps that must be taken to protect and restore this invaluable landscape. Download a PDF of the report online at www.americasenergycoast.org.
“This report clearly makes the case for why we need consistent federal policies that work to expedite the implementation of critical coastal restoration projects and encourage better coordination among federal, state and local governments,” said R. King Milling, Chair of the America’s WETLAND Foundation, which leads the AEC. “Years after catastrophic hurricanes such as Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike devastated our communities, little has been done to restore the coastal wetlands and barrier islands that protect this vulnerable region. Immediate action must be taken at the highest levels of the federal government and led by the White House to eliminate the chronic delays that stand between us and a safer and more resilient coastal landscape for Louisiana, and the entire Gulf Coast.”
One of the major obstacles to sustainability identified in the report and discussed at length with officials during the AEC Policy Forum is that federal administration of the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) lacks efficiency and effectiveness, bottling up millions in available funds that should be spent on coastal projects.
“Multiple hoops, rule changes and alternating staff have resulted in a program that is ineffective at best,” said Jody Henneke, Deputy Land Commissioner of Coastal Resources with the Texas General land Office. “While CIAP certainly has the potential to be an effective tool in the effort to protect and restore our vulnerable coastal landscapes, bureaucratic red tape and excessive delays have caused unnecessary burdens and administrative expenses for the states it was designed to support.”
Congress authorized the program in 2005 and directed the federal Minerals Management Service to distribute $250 million a year among six energy-producing coastal states to mitigate the impacts of offshore oil and gas production activities. Of the $1 billion that’s now available to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska and California, less than $100 million has been disbursed to date.
Region at Risk also notes the sense of urgency with which Gulf Coast sustainability must be addressed. “While the US Army Corps of Engineers takes about 40 years on average to complete a project, we don’t have 40 years,” said Garret Graves, Executive Director of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities. "Since the 1930's Louisiana has lost more than 2,300 square miles of wetlands. To think that this nation has a ‘no net loss of wetlands’ policy while this massive ecosystem collapse continues to occur unabated is extraordinary. This coastal wetlands loss is not just limited to ecosystems -- it is quite literally the encroachment of the Gulf of Mexico and the encroachment of vulnerability into our communities and future. The urgency is real and demands aggressive federal action to accompany the ongoing efforts of Gulf states."
The report also highlights the activities along AEC that make it unlike any other coast in the U.S. As the epicenter of energy and environmental issues, the region is crucial to shipping, oil and gas development, refining and transportation, fisheries and flyways. The four states in the AEC contribute 90 percent of America's offshore energy production, 30 percent of the nation's overall oil and gas supply, and 30 percent of its seafood in the lower 48 states. In addition, the Mississippi River and the coastal marshes are habitat for millions of migratory songbirds and waterfowl. Ten of the nation's top 14 ports are in these four states, with most of the nation's grain shipped down the Mississippi River and distributed worldwide from the Gulf Coast. The Mississippi River is the trunk of a 14,500-mile navigation system. The Gulf Intracoastal Water Way is a 15,000-mile system.
“Federal recognition and support is critical to our ability to preserve this vital economic region, and all that it provides to the nation,” said Mark Hurley, General Manager of Distribution Strategy with Shell Pipeline and Chair of the AEC Industry Council.
"The Nature Conservancy has increasingly come to realize that protecting biodiversity on Earth requires working with all of the communities that inhabit an ecosystem,” said Karen Gautreaux, governmental affairs director for The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana. “In the Gulf of Mexico region, this means working with the many interests that share a common need for a healthy ecosystem platform for a sustainable future. The America's Energy Coast initiative provides an important venue for that discussion and directed actions."
America’s WETLAND Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has acted as a neutral arbiter for coastal interests since its inception in 2002, elevating issues facing the Gulf Coast, specifically those of coastal land loss, to regional and national attention. Through its America’s Energy Coast (AEC) initiative, the Foundation has brought together a diverse group of major U.S.- based businesses and industries, national environmental organizations, renowned scientists and researchers, and coastal interests from across the four energy-producing states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
This unprecedented coalition includes Shell, Chevron, BG North America, Entergy, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and many others. The AEC’s mission is to provide a balanced forum for diverse interests to work together toward the development of comprehensive solutions to sustain this vital economic region and the environment on which it depends. Learn more at www.americasenergycoast.org.