GALVESTON, Texas – Almost a decade after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, government agencies are still spending millions of dollars to restore the Gulf Of Mexico.
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is planning to spend about $130 million over the next seven years to study, restore and manage deep-sea habitat, including coral communities in the Gulf.
Sandra Brooke – a deep-sea coral scientist, and a member of the associate research faculty with the Coastal and Marine Laboratory at Florida State University – says the project aims to restore damaged habitat for fish, sea turtles and other inhabitants of the ocean's middle and lower depths.
"We're trying to identify areas that are not in conflict with any existing fishery, but are extremely valuable in terms of conservation, so that those areas will be protected,” says Brooke. “So, if and when whichever fisheries it is start moving into the deep sea, at least we have those valuable areas protected."
Public comment is being taken about the plan through the end of June.
Another group, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, recently approved a first-of-its-kind plan to protect 21 coral sites, covering 484 square miles, by restricting damaging fishing gear near the reefs. The plan will safeguard ancient, fragile coral ecosystems that provide food, shelter and breeding grounds for species that range from sharks and crabs, to snapper and grouper.
Holly Binns – director of Conserving Marine Life on the Gulf Coast and in the U.S. Caribbean for The Pew Charitable Trusts – says once the coral is gone, the damage is almost irreversible.
"Unfortunately, once these deep-sea corals are damaged, they're very fragile and they can take decades or even centuries to recover," says Binns.
Binns says an extra benefit of these restoration plans is the development of better maps to locate coral reefs and other ecosystems in the deep ocean.
"A lot of our ocean has yet to be mapped, and it's only in the last 10 or 20 years where the technology has been good enough to allow scientists to get into these very deep waters," says Binns. “Using remote operated vehicles and submersibles, they are now able to get down into the deep ocean."
Restoration projects are funded through a $20 billion settlement fund with BP, the oil company that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig.
Comments for the deep-sea habitat restoration project can be made by letter or online with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A comment period for the project to identify and protect coral reefs is expected to open in July or August.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons projects. Expense for the Y12 Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge are expected to increase as it ages.
Tanvi Kardile, coordinator for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said the National Nuclear Security Administration requested an extra $810 million for the Y12 complex. That pushes its total cost to $9 billion, which is $2.5 billion more than the initial estimate.
Kardile suggested this money could be better spent on other state priorities.
"It would just be so great for the state to up their health care, up education. We don't have public transportation here. That can be something great for us - but instead, we're paying towards nuclear weapons," Kardile suggested.
Kardile added the Biden administration total weapons budget for the nation is $19.8 billion. She pointed out delays in construction of the Uranium Processing facility mean it won't be completed until 2029, several years behind schedule.
She said her group is also concerned with the ongoing environmental hazards and public health risks tied to enriching uranium and other activities at the weapons complex. But proponents of the plant point to the jobs and economic impact it has for the local area. Kardile said that wouldn't necessarily go away if the facility closed.
"If the plant were to shut down operations, they would still have to be cleanup, because there is a lot of contamination and radiation from the plant. So, it would still provide jobs for years to come, because that contamination is not going to go away in our lifetime," Kardile added.
She emphasized the importance of Tennesseans collaborating with lawmakers to find the best path to allocate their tax dollars.
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New Mexico has one of the nation's last "wild" rivers, free of human-made structures and community representatives will be back in the nation's Capitol this week to advocate for its protection.
A delegation of tribal leaders, local elected officials, veterans and community leaders will urge members of Congress to pass the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act. Passage would protect nearly 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers and their tributaries.
Harry Browne, a commissioner in Grant County, said local residents have championed the legislation for nearly a decade.
"This region is among the nation's most economically challenged," Browne pointed out. "We deserve the benefits of Wild and Scenic Designation, increased tourism, increased investment by small businesses in outdoor recreation activities."
After four introductions, the bill passed out of a Senate committee last year with bipartisan support. As negotiated, it would allow grazing operations to continue on surrounding areas. Nonetheless, some landowners oppose the bill, worried it might restrict their Gila water use and lead to lawsuits.
In 2011, the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico won the right to establish a reservation on homelands in southern New Mexico.
Pamela Eagleshield, vice chair of the tribe in Oklahoma, said many of the remaining 800 members hope to return and enjoy the pristine environment.
"Because our petroglyphs, our carvings, our culture, our history; everything that we have is there," Eagleshield emphasized. "If it's changed in any way, that's something that directly affects the spirituality of our people."
Browne noted the Grant County community-driven proposal will benefit people of all kinds.
"That is why my family and I moved here back in the early '90s," Browne stressed. "It would be devastating to see what we have here diminished by un-careful development."
New Mexico's outdoor recreation industry generates just over $2 billion in consumer spending by directly employing 28,000 people.
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The Supreme Court's decision in 2023 to roll back the Clean Water Act has meant less federal oversight in protecting the country's wetlands.
Illinois does not have a standalone program, and one organization hopes state legislators will pass measures to change this. Wetlands clean the water, reduce flooding and provide fish and wildlife habitat.
David McEllis, Illinois legislative director for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said Senate Bill 3669 and House Bill 5386 have passed out of their respective committees, but he expects future amendments.
"This would create, through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, a permitting process for when a landowner wants to destroy or fill in or work on wetlands in the state," McEllis outlined. "That covers the gap that was created by the Supreme Court decision."
The department believes landowners can play an important role in protecting the state's nearly 54,000 species of insects, birds, mammals, frogs and fungi by providing nesting and roosting places for habitat and making clean water accessible. The agency warns the state's natural areas are being lost to urban development and agricultural and industrial interests.
McEllis believes a wetlands standalone program would continue where the court's ruling left off and protect the state's remaining untouched and unprotected wetlands. The center's fact sheet said Illinois has already lost 90% of its wetland acreage and the status of the remaining 10% is unknown.
He pointed out the destruction of wetlands has taken place in Illinois for hundreds of years, since the state's establishment in the 1800s.
"There are some existing protections in the state in Cook County and some of the suburban counties, so those wetlands have some protection," McEllis acknowledged. "There are multiple rivers in downstate Illinois, and also wetlands areas throughout the state."
McEllis noted millions of wetlands have already been used for farming purposes, resulting in a loss for the state. A report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said wetlands currently cover nearly 6% of the land in 48 states. An estimated 95% of wetlands are freshwater; the rest are marine.
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