News -> INDReporter THU, JUN 3 9:55AM by Mary Tutwiler

State to build sand berms along barrier islands

Whether forced or willingly, BP will pay for six sand berms along Louisiana’s barrier islands. The language changes from American muscle: “I have directed BP to pay for five additional barrier island projects in addition to the one I approved last week as part of our continuing commitment to do everything possible to protect our vital coastal communities from BP’s leaking oil,” Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told the Associated Press, to “Oil company BP says it will pay for the construction of six sand barriers off the coast of the US state of Louisiana to try to protect fragile wetlands from a huge oil slick,” from the BBC.

Whichever the case, approximately 100 miles of sand berm, 6 feet tall, 20 feet across the top and 320 feet across the bottom, will stretch from Timbalier Island, on the west side of the Mississippi Delta, to the Chandeleur Islands on the east. The sand berms will be broken into 24 segments with gaps to allow tidal flow. The Mississippi bird’s foot delta will not be obstructed.

Holding up the original permit request to the Army Corps of Engineers, which was filed weeks ago by the state, were objections from Department of Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and various environmental groups, questioning everything from the possibility of impounding marshes, changing salinity and current flow and effects on wildlife and the islands themselves. Also the chatter, as the weeks went by and state grew more and more frustrated, opined that the berms would be too little too late.

Also from the BBC, BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward, who has shown an amazing insensitivity to the plight of Louisiana residents, admitted that it was “entirely fair criticism” to say his company was unprepared for the deep-water disaster. In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, he said: “We did not have the tools you would want in your toolkit.”

In addition, on Wednesday Governor Bobby Jindal sent a letter to President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar requesting that they lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Jindal cites huge economic losses to the state both from the impaired seafood industry and the potential loss of oilfield jobs.

While the economic impacts are devastating to the state, until we can be assured that the other 33 deepwater rigs in the gulf have “the tools you would want in your toolkit,” should another problem develop, how can we support this position?


Comments (4)add
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written by Bre , June 03, 2010 - 05:22 pm
Glad to hear it but this should have been done a long time ago, took way to long!!!!!
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written by Dean , June 03, 2010 - 06:34 pm
It could have been done a long time ago had Jindal opened up his wallet and decided to pay for the damage to his own state. You live beside a toxic oil dump yet you don't decided to buy the necessary things to protect yourself when the sh*t hits the fan....well that is your fault.
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written by NorskeDiv , June 03, 2010 - 11:26 pm
What a joke of an article.

"Until we can be sure they have the tools needed to stop these leaks" - so, all these rigs should be shutdown and brought into harbor until it meets your satisfaction that they have the "tools" needed to stop such a leak. No concern for the tens of thousands who would be out of the job.

And Jindal was the one who pushed the idea of building barrier islands, while the federal government (Obama) sat around and delayed even granting the permission for it. And why the F* should Jindal, or even the state of LA, pay for leak prevention regulations and equipment. Far off shore drilling is a FEDERAL issue. But of course there's a Republican in the mix, so you hacks have to go after him.

And by the way, I voted for Obama, I'm just absolutely sickened by the pathetic hackery in this situation. Everything for people on the far left is a political opportunity.
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written by JD , June 13, 2010 - 08:13 pm
The document trail for the sand berm permit can be found at
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/304643...INAL.pdf.

It shows the actual story is one that a lazy media has missed. The state submitted an inadequate proposal with little information for a massive project, but the feds responded immediately and kept engaged even over weekends to try to get something that could work. They have been under tremendous political pressure to give in, of course.

The sand berms are a political gambit by the Governor. Why spend so much time trying to get something approved that will take months to finish when quicker strategies - like booms across passes, oil tankers, etc. - are put aside? BP should pay for everything, but we want those funds well spent. If the Governor gets his way, $350 million could go to building berms that will be knocked down by storms this summer. Aren't there plenty of pressing needs those funds could be directed to (besides dredging firms that are backers of him and Mr. Nungesser?)
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