If terrorists threatened the seventh largest delta in the world, one can only imagine the great outpouring of support and relief that would arise as a protective response. When the threat of destruction comes from within, however, the prevailing political and corporate machinery turns a deaf ear to the crisis. Despite wide spread recognition that a third of Louisiana’s coastline could disappear by the year 2050, little is being done to address the primary causal factors behind coastal wetlands loss.
It is estimated that the oil and gas industries were responsible for 30 to 59 percent of coastal wetlands loss between the years 1955 and 1978. The draining and dredging of wetlands for oil industry canals is primarily to blame for this staggering degradation. A 1994 study of coastal wetlands estimated that the oil and gas industries are responsible for $2 to $4 billion worth of damage to Louisiana’s wetlands every year, and accountable for an additional $32 to $67 million worth of damages in annual wetlands loss.
Manmade channels and canals have altered the wetlands ecosystem and exacerbated coastal erosion. These canals encourage saline water to flow inland and increase water buildup in Louisiana marshes, killing vegetation and souring the habitat. As this water pools, erosion is fueled and marshy areas are destroyed.
Sadly, oil activities in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands have also proven to be a danger to the future of the industry itself. The destruction of wetlands and disappearance of barrier islands threatens to expose the 20,000 miles of oil pipelines that make landfall in the state. One need only look to last year’s spill of 90,000 gallons of oil in Little Lake, caused by a single ruptured British Petroleum pipeline, to understand the gravity of this potential threat. To contemplate a similar occurrence in a place like Port Fourchon’s Mars Pipeline is to envision the death of Louisiana itself.
The weakened wetlands ecosystem also puts wells and platforms at risk, further increasing the likelihood of oil spillage. Coastal parishes are home to 58% of these wells. One large spill could decimate the region, place the future of the offshore oil industry in jeopardy, and devastate the state economy. Despite the looming shadow of this prospect, Louisiana politicians seem eager to stay the course of temporary profit and environmental shortsightedness.
The end result of such shortsightedness could do irreparable damage to both the state and national economy. Wetlands loss deals a deathblow to the state’s booming seafood industries, which are the second largest in the nation and an underpinning of the local economy. The marshy areas that are home to shrimp and crabs are disappearing. This does not bode well for the nation’s seafood supply, for the seafood industry, or for New Orleans’ restaurants and tourist-based economy. It is astounding that the seafood industry has not demanded more accountability from the oil and gas industries for the threat to their livelihood. Nevertheless, like the rest of Louisiana, they turn a blind eye to their own undoing.
As taxpayers prepare to shoulder the financial burden of the $14 billion Coast 2050 project, it is imperative that we take a careful look at corporate accountability for wetlands loss. How is it that the oil and gas industries, bearing half the blame for the state’s coastal crisis, consistently escape proportional accountability for their damages? How is that these same industries, instead of being asked to answer for their wreckage, are receiving large tax exemptions and regulatory relief from the state of Louisiana? It is high time that the oil and gas industries are held accountable for the toll they have taken on the state’s natural, economic, and governmental resources. There is no doubt that the oil and gas industries make a great contribution to the state’s economy, to the tune of $3 billion a year. Nevertheless, the dynamics of this contribution should not be at the expense of the state and the industry itself.
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), co-sponsored by Sen. John Breaux and Sen. Mary Landrieu, mandates that an annual payment of $311 million from offshore oil and gas revenues be paid to the state of Louisiana. These funds are widely praised by politicians and corporate executives as the industry’s “environmentally friendly” business contribution toward the coastal restoration effort. Ironically, the CARA revenues are hardly a victory for Louisiana’s fragile environment. In reality, the CARA funds are shockingly disproportionate (shy to the tune of a few billion dollars) to the oil industry’s accumulated toll of damages to the state’s wetlands. Taxpayers are left to pay the difference.
It is imperative that we take a hard look at the management of Louisiana’s natural and economic resources. The oil and gas industries must accept further regulation that increases their contribution to the wetland restoration effort and halts those offshore practices that negatively impact the wetlands and the industry itself. Our state senators and oil industry executives must dispense with the ineffectual charade of oil-stained environmental progress. We need to face the facts about Louisiana’s future. Current policies and practices are not healing our natural resources. They are, quite literally, salting our wounds.