Offshore Oil & Gas

 

Hundreds Of Groups Urge Stop To Gulf Oil Sale, Biden's First. According to Politico, “More than 250 environmental, religious and Indigenous groups sent a letter to President Biden today, urging him to cancel the first oil and gas lease sale of this administration — an auction next week for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico. The auction will offer roughly 80 million acres in the Gulf, all of the available waters for lease, to oil and gas drillers. Other onshore oil and gas lease sales are anticipated early next year. The Biden administration in January instituted a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing. But the Interior Department recently restarted the program to comply with a court decision. A federal judge ordered the agency to resume auctions while he considers while the president has the authority to freeze leasing. Green groups have become increasingly frustrated by the Biden administration’s continuation of the status quo for the nation’s large oil and natural gas program. Signers of today’s letter include 267 entities, from Greenpeace to the Karankawa Kadla Gulf Coast Tribe of Texas and the Louisiana environmental justice organization RISE St. James. ‘You promised to address the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves,’ the groups wrote in a letter sent to top officials in the Biden administration. ‘Selling more than 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas development just days after the international climate talks makes a mockery of those commitments.’” [Politico, 11/10/21 (=)]

 

AP | Miss. Governor Announces 16 Projects From Oil Spill Funds. According to Politico, “Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves yesterday announced 16 projects that will be funded by some of the money the state received after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. ‘One of my top priorities will always be ensuring that all funds meant for restoring our Gulf Coast, go strictly to our Gulf Coast,’ Reeves, a Republican, said in a news release. ‘With the announcement of these 16 critically important projects, that’s exactly what my administration is doing.’ The new projects will cost about $62 million, adding to the more than $570 million already being spent for restoration in Mississippi after the Deepwater Horizon spill. Among the projects announced yesterday are $5.5 million to improve wastewater quality and solid waste disposal from the shrimp processing industry; $3.3 million for a Coastal Habitat Management Fund; nearly $1.7 million for airborne and waterborne environmental monitoring systems; and $1.1 million for new, repaired or upgraded stormwater and wastewater systems.” [Politico, 11/10/21 (=)]

 

Was Huntington Beach Spill The Last Straw For California Oil? According to Bakersfield Californian, “The amount of oil produced in California has been steadily falling for more than three decades. And the fallout from last month’s spill of some 25,000 gallons of crude off the coast of Huntington Beach may hasten the decline. Is the age of oil in the Golden State fast approaching its demise? It’s an open question. Environmental groups have called for stopping all offshore drilling with an eye on extending the ban to eventually prohibit extraction of all oil and gas in the state — on land as well as offshore. ‘Our hope is this is the beginning of the end of oil extraction and, in particular, offshore oil drilling off California’s coast,’ said Laura Deehan, state director for Environment California. ‘The cost that we’re paying as a society for this dependence on oil is just too great to bear.’ Industry officials say shutting down oil and gas production will force California to import more foreign oil, further push up gasoline prices and devastate an industry that directly employs more than 50,000 workers, particularly in Kern County, the heart of California’s oil patch. ‘Californians consume 1.8 million barrels of oil every single day and it has to come from somewhere,’ said Rock Zierman, CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Association. ‘We’ve never curtailed demand.’” [Bakersfield Californian, 11/10/21 (=)]

 

Fisheries & Marine Life

 

Louisiana Surveys Fishery, Seafood Business Hurricane Losses. According to Associated Press, “Louisiana is surveying marine fishery and seafood businesses that lost money because of hurricanes this year and last, for a disaster aid request, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Wednesday. All such businesses should complete an online survey developed with Louisiana State University, whether the losses were large or small, the department said in a news release. ‘The surveys will be used to develop an economic impact report, which is needed to establish a basis for federal disaster aid requests in the coming weeks,’ the department said. They include but aren’t restricted to seafood producers, harvesters, dealers and processors, as well as charter boat operators, marinas and bait shops. Losses can be from Hurricanes Ida, Laura, Delta or Zeta.” [Associated Press, 11/11/21 (=)]

 

Sea-Level Rise

 

Calif. Agency To Beach Towns: Plan For 10 Feet Of Sea Rise. According to Politico, “Beach cities should plan for as much as 10 feet of sea-level rise when building bridges, roads and other critical infrastructure, the California Coastal Commission warns in updated guidance. Local governments also should consider relocating some infrastructure because of higher water and more extreme storms, the agency that oversees development near beaches said in the blueprint it’s due to vote on Wednesday. ‘Much of the existing infrastructure that allows people to access, recreate, live, and work in coastal communities was not designed to be resilient to the threats of climate change and sea level rise,’ the document says. Those threats ‘present unprecedented challenges and must be met with proactive adaptation.’ The release of the guidance, a revision of a draft released in August, comes as multiple state agencies work to prepare for as much as 3.5 feet of sea-level rise in 30 years. Higher waters and extreme storms threaten key California highways, sewage facilities and its $44 billion beach economy, But the guidance also raised questions about how local governments, or even the state, will pay for fixes, which are potentially in the trillions of dollars.” [Politico, 11/11/21 (=)]

 

Ocean Health & Management

 

Op-Ed: The Inextricable Ties Between National Security, Natural Security And Our Oceans. According to an op-ed by Leon Panetta The Hill, “While serving as secretary of Defense, I saw firsthand that natural security is national security. A foundation of strong, healthy natural resources, equitably distributed, supports Americans’ health, livelihoods and wellbeing. This reduces vulnerability to conflict and instability, which couldn’t be more important in a time when we’re already seeing disruptions related to a changing climate. When you add up the area of ocean off the East and West Coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and around the islands and atolls in the Pacific, our ocean in the U.S. is slightly larger in area than our land. Put another way, more than half of the United States is ocean. And what a beautiful place our ocean is. It ranges from the tropics to the Arctic, from Big Sur to Cape Cod and is home to everything from tiny plankton to mighty blue whales. Our ocean feeds us, soothes us, inspires us. It is in the words of President John Kennedy, it is the ‘salt in our veins.’ For centuries we have depended on the ocean. Today, our ocean needs us. Thirty years ago, I led the effort to create the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and prohibit offshore oil and gas development. … President Biden wants to build on this bipartisan legacy as part of an effort to build a new relationship with nature. For too long the debate over ocean protection came down to fishermen versus conservationists. It turns out this was and is a false choice.” [The Hill, 11/10/21 (+)]

 

 

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