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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth

The Gulf Coast still needs your help

The Spokane Riverkeeper is remembering the BP oil spill one year later as well, calling for action with the Gulf Waterkeepers. He asks you to "join them in calling on government to make communities whole again, commit to cleaning up and restoring the Gulf, hold BP accountable, ensure local participation in decision-making, conduct short- and long- term monitoring, and invest in economic opportunities to support local, sustainable recovery that restores and enhances the Gulf coast."

Here is their message:

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon well exploded 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven men lost their lives that day. On April 22, the rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico, triggering 87 days of uncontrolled oil discharges to the Gulf.  From April 20 to July 18, it is estimated that 250 million gallons of oil were released into our environment.

The Gulf coast still needs your help. The BP oil disaster is not over: the oil is not gone and Gulf coast communities have not been made whole again.  Today marks the one-year memorial of this black mark in our country’s environmental history.

The number of gallons that were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico is extremely important, not just to understand how much oil we have to clean up, but also for the government to determine an accurate penalty for violating the Clean Water Act.

T
here is no federal legislation that requires BP’s Clean Water Act fines return to the Gulf coast where they belong.  The Clean Water Act fines could mean a more complete restoration for our ecosystem and our communities. But only if they go back to the Gulf coast, where the disaster took place.

We need your help to keep the pressure on Congress to make sure that BP pays to restore  the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast and Gulf communities.  Please urge your state’s Congressional delegation to ensure that no less than 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines return to the Gulf coast for ecological restoration.

Take action right now to stand by the people of the Gulf coast!

If you find yourself in a discussion about this today – use these helpful talking points courtesy of the Gulf Waterkeepers:

Anchor-handling tugboats battle the blazing re...

Image via Wikipedia

Save Our Gulf Talking Points

  • BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010.  The explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17 others.
  • BP discharged an estimated 250 million gallons of toxic oil and 1. 8 million gallons of toxic dispersant into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 87 days.

o    The oil is not gone.  Tar balls and mats of oil continue to wash ashore from Barataria Bay in Louisiana to Pensacola Beach, Florida.

  • BP is running a PR machine, not a restoration effort.

o    BP spent more than $93 million on advertising between April 2010 and July 2010, more than three times the amount they spent in the same period the previous year.  Compare that to the $18 million BP is giving to the state of Louisiana to monitor the safety of their seafood.

  • Legislation must be passed to bring Clean Water Act fines back to the Gulf coast for restoration.

o    HR 56, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, calls for no less than 80 percent of BP’s Clean Water Act fines return to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida for the conservation, protection and restoration of the Gulf coast ecosystem.

 

  • The Gulf coast is a critical source of seafood for the United States and a critical part of the Gulf coast’s economy.

o    83 percent of shrimp and 56 percent of oyster landings in the U.S. are from the Gulf.

o    The Gulf Disaster Compensation Fund, administered by Kenneth Feinberg, is denying Gulf fishermen’s claims for lost income with an appeals process that has yet to turn over a single original decision.  The victims of this disaster must be paid fairly.

  • There is a public health crisis erupting on the Gulf coast.

o    Gulf coast residents who live and work on the water, particularly fishing communities, are experiencing respiratory problems, chest pain and tightening, headaches, dizziness, nausea and skin rashes.

o    Gulf coast doctors are not properly trained or equipped to diagnose and treat the physical and mental health illnesses caused by exposure to crude oil and chemical dispersants or the loss of livelihood.

o    Gulf coast residents eat between 3 and 12 times more seafood than the national average, yet in July of 2010 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration set safe consumption rates for cancer-causing PAHs in oil-exposed Gulf seafood based on the national average, leaving the region more vulnerable to long-term impacts.  And FDA’s limits for PAHs are higher for this disaster than standards set in response to other disaters; for instance, in California the standard was set to 34 ppb, compared to the Gulf coast standard of 132 ppb.

o    The now famous seafood sniff-test has done little to ease anyone mind’s who expect greater thoroughness by oversight agencies, especially as there is no test for finding dispersant chemicals in our seafood.

o    The amount of crude oil released and toxic dispersants applied to the Gulf is unprecendented. We have no idea what this toxic cocktail has done or will continue to do our waters, our bodies, and environment. We need a precautionary approach to the use of toxic chemicals to prevent unintended consequences to our communities.

o    There is no government agency tasked with tracking illnesses or finding short- and long- term community health solutions.

  • This will happen again. There are systemic, industry-wide deficiencies that must be corrected to prevent another disaster of this magnitude.

o    The oil and gas industry should not be allowed to move forward with new drilling until the Oil Spill Commission’s recommendations are implemented.  These include:

1.      Reduce and mitigate more effectively by keeping pace with international technology and safety standards.

2.      Assure independence and integrity of government institutions charged with protecting the public interest through greater transparency and accountability.

3.      Implement stronger environmental review and enforcement.

4.      Reorient spill response and containment planning.

5.      Revise liability rules to better protect victims and provide proper incentives to industry.

 



Down To Earth

The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.