Wildlife Promise » gulf oil spill http://blog.nwf.org The National Wildlife Federation's blog Thu, 23 May 2013 21:36:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Lagniappe for the Mississippi River Delta—and the Gulf of Mexico http://blog.nwf.org/2012/11/lagniappe-for-the-mississippi-river-delta-and-the-gulf-of-mexico/ http://blog.nwf.org/2012/11/lagniappe-for-the-mississippi-river-delta-and-the-gulf-of-mexico/#comments Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:59:45 +0000 David Muth http://blog.nwf.org/?p=71177 Read more >]]> Last Thursday began with a buzz of speculation for those of us in the Mississippi River Delta Restoration campaign. The Justice department was going to announce a settlement with BP of the criminal charges arising from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Attorney General Holder then announced the largest criminal settlement in history: $4.5 billion. But to our delight, there was more—$1.2 billion of the money BP will pay to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will be directed to Mississippi River diversions and barrier island restoration in hard-hit coastal Louisiana.

The Mississippi River Delta provides critical breeding, wintering and migratory stopover habitat for 100 million individual birds each year. The type of projects funded by the BP settlement will help restore the delta, which is eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at an average rate of a football field every hour. Flickr photo by Dan Pancamo.

These diversions—actually river re-introduction projects—are critical to restoring a naturally functioning delta, and changing the trajectory from wetland loss to wetland gain in one of the most important wildlife habitats in the world.

Decades of National Wildlife Federation involvement in efforts to restore the Mississippi River Delta are about to see fruition.  This was not just serendipity. It followed on the passage of the RESTORE Act and the adoption of the 2012 Louisiana Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, two signature achievements in 2012—the result of years of hard work and dedication by NWF and its many partners. It is no coincidence that both of these accomplishments were referenced during the AG’s press conference.

Furthermore, an additional $1.2 billion will be distributed through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to the remaining Gulf States—Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, for restoration purposes. That is great news for NWF’s efforts to restore the Gulf of Mexico.

We are still anticipating a much larger payment from the resolution of the civil case against BP for their violations of federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act. For now, we welcome that the Department of Justice chose to craft the criminal settlement in the way announced Thursday.

Importantly, the Justice Department made it clear that BP will enjoy no tax advantages from this payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and that this will not be used to offset any part of its civil penalties. And Justice also made it very clear that it intends to pursue the civil case vigorously, if BP does not proffer an acceptable settlement.

Thanks to the RESTORE Act we anticipate a great deal more money for restoration, but this restoration money from the criminal case is truly lagniappe, as we say in New Orleans.

Take ActionMake sure the Department of Justice holds BP fully accountable for the 2010 disaster in the Gulf!

 

]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2012/11/lagniappe-for-the-mississippi-river-delta-and-the-gulf-of-mexico/feed/ 0 Gulf Spill Rig Owner: Well Done, Execs! http://blog.nwf.org/2011/04/gulf-spill-rig-owner-well-done-execs/ http://blog.nwf.org/2011/04/gulf-spill-rig-owner-well-done-execs/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:08:19 +0000 Peter LaFontaine http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=17946 Read more >]]> You just can’t make this stuff up.  Transocean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig at the center of last summer’s Gulf oil spill, is giving bonuses to its executives for outstanding achievements in safety.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

The payout contrasts with that for 2009, when the company withheld all executive bonuses after incurring four fatalities that year “to underscore the company’s commitment to safety.”

In a filing on executive pay, Transocean said, “Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record.” Based on the total rate of incidents and their severity, “we recorded the best year in safety performance in our company’s history.”

A Transocean rig in the Gulf of Mexico (photo: BP America)

Transocean, along with BP and Halliburton, is under investigation by the US Department of Justice for its role in the disaster.  The Hill‘s E2 blog reports that government officials are irate at the news.  Former EPA chief William K. Reilly, who helped lead the Obama Administration’s analysis of what went wrong, had harsh words for the company:

“I think Transocean just doesn’t get it [...]  It’s embarrassing to see a position taken like that by an industry leader.”

The SEC filing “ought to be evidence No. 1” of the culture of complacency within the oil industry identified in the oil spill commission’s final report, Reilly said.

Unbelievable.  Instead of giving themselves pats on the back, maybe Transocean should make good on its responsibilities to the people and wildlife in the Gulf, who are still waiting for money for restoration projects to rebuild their wetlands, fisheries, and coastlines.

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UPDATE: 4/5/2011 — Transocean is scrambling into damage-control mode, issuing a statement yesterday to apologize for their wording–but not for the bonuses themselves: “We acknowledge that some of the wording in our 2010 proxy statement may have been insensitive in light of the incident that claimed the lives of eleven exceptional men last year and we deeply regret any pain that it may have caused,” the company said in the release.  “Nothing in the [SEC filing] was intended to minimize this tragedy or diminish the impact it has had on those who lost loved ones. Everyone at Transocean continues to mourn the loss of these friends and colleagues.”

Transocean President/CEO Steven Newman received a combined bonus and salary increase of $574,062 for his sterling leadership.

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You can read about NWF’s efforts to help Gulf wildlife and communities at www.nwf.org/oilspill

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