The America’s Energy Coast Leadership Forum issued the following press release on July 30, 2009:
Obama Administration, Congress Urged to Resolve Inconsistent Federal & State Policies that Hamper Coastal Progress
BILOXI, MS—A diverse coalition brought together by the America’s WETLAND Foundation (AWF)—including Shell, the Nature Conservancy, Chevron, Ducks Unlimited, BG North America, LLC, and the National Wildlife Federation—is urging the Obama Administration and Congress to resolve conflicting Federal and state policies that hamper implementation of large-scale coastal restoration and protection projects.
“There is no greater threat to Gulf Coast sustainability than the threat of inaction,” said AWF Chairman R. King Milling. “Washington must immediately begin working to resolve the menacing policies, which regulate practices and resource uses in a one-size-fits-all manner and fail to address the complexities of our region’s unique ecosystems. The urgency has never been greater—for the next Katrina is a question of when and where, not if.”
The coalition met at the 3rd Annual America’s Energy Coast (AEC) Leadership Forum in Biloxi, MS today, and they adopted a resolution calling on Federal and state leaders to develop specific recommendations for streamlining the process to sustain the region.
“Although a diverse group sits at this table –policymakers, environmental and industry leaders, and those representing navigation, academia, fisheries, and culture– we all agree that without reconciling these conflicting policies, we will lose the critical resources this working coast provides the nation, along with the communities who make them possible,” said Sidney Coffee, AWF’s Senior Policy Advisor and former Chair of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
The resolution responds to a study conducted by AEC leader and former head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, H. Dale Hall, which highlights specific examples of Federal policy conflicts that negatively impact the implementation of critical projects across the region.
One example sited in the report is the conflict between the Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) responsibilities relative to maintenance dredging to support navigation and Federal sponsorship of restoration projects.
Despite the Corps’ authority to plan and support ecosystem restoration-focused projects, the Federal civil works planning process is conducted according to principles and guidelines that Congress established in 1983, which define national economic development as the primary planning objective. This purely economic cost-benefit analysis does not always favor beneficial-use projects such as those proposing to use dredged material for ecological restoration.
“Conflicting policies such as this have evolved over many years as our values have changed,” said Hall, who is now a consultant to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. “Its no one’s fault, but these inconsistencies have had unintended consequences, and we must remedy them. As the report demonstrates, these conflicts have already led to too many costly delays. Timely resolution of these conflicts is crucial to success.”
The AEC resolution and Hall’s study on Federal policy inconsistencies are available online at www.americasenergycoast.org.
The AEC is an initiative of the America’s WETLAND Foundation (AWF), which brings together major U.S.- based businesses and industry, national environmental organizations, renowned scientists and researchers, and coastal interests from across the four energy-producing states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. AEC’s mission is to provide a balanced forum for diverse interests to work together toward the development of comprehensive solutions to sustain this vital economic region and the environment on which it depends.
The opening session of the AEC forum was led by Milling and Dr. Bill Walker, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Delivering remarks on behalf of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Walker said, “It is most fitting that America’s Energy Coast is holding this forum here on the Mississippi coast at a time when our country is debating national energy policy. It is this region that has supplied America for decades with the energy necessary to build a stronger nation, create jobs, and supply products for manufacturing. And it is from this region that new energy technologies and alternative energy sources will emerge in the future.”