[StBernard] Governor Blanco urges support of OCS legislation in message to Congress

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco urges support of OCS legislation in message to Congress 

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco distributed the following message to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives today:

December 4, 2006



As Members of U.S. House of Representatives, you have S 3711 before you that, for the first time in history, would share Outer Continental Shelf offshore oil and gas revenues with the Gulf coast states that support that activity on their shores. 

There is no more important vote the Congress could make as a critical step in helping our state restore its collapsing coastal landscape and protect our communities that make the offshore production possible for the rest of our nation.

The need for revenue sharing has been an urgent one for many years as one of the nation's most prolific and significant ecosystems continues to collapse. Since the loss of another 217 square miles of Louisiana's coastal land due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is now beyond critical. 

The dedicated stream of revenue the sharing of offshore revenues would provide will enable us to sustain the long-term effort required to protect our communities and establish a sustainable coastal landscape that will continue to provide our nation with energy, critical navigation routes, a third of its fisheries landings in the lower 48 states, its most significant flyway for waterfowl and migratory songbirds, and the habitat for 70 endangered or threatened plant and animal species. 

To answer those who continue to ask if Louisiana can be trusted to spend the money in the right way and take the steps necessary to ensure restoration of its coast and protection against future catastrophic events, the state of Louisiana has taken some dramatic and significant actions during the past year:

Creation of CPRA (Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority)
Louisiana legislature created authority and mandated it to fully integrate coastal protection and restoration, create a comprehensive coast wide coastal protection master plan, to provide oversight of all levee districts in south Louisiana, to ensure consistency among state, Federal and local agencies for all activities relating to this effort, and to speak for the state on all these issues.

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	Passage of Levee Reform: Legislation passed that consolidated levee districts in the Orleans area and reformed how levee board members are chosen, taking the politics out of that selection and providing guidelines to ensure that professional engineers, hydrologists, and other experts - both from the state and elsewhere - serve on these boards. (Legislation ratified through a constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly by the voters on September 30, 2006.)

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	Constitutional Dedication of OCS Revenues: The voters of Louisiana cast an historic vote September 30, 2006 and approved (with 82% of vote) a constitutional amendment that dedicates any and all OCS revenues the state would receive through a revenue sharing bill passed by Congress, solely to coastal restoration and hurricane protection. 

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	Release of State's Comprehensive Coastal Protection Master Plan: CPRA has released its preliminary draft of its comprehensive plan to protect communities and restore our coastal landscape. After months of public input, final plan goes to the legislature for approval in April, 2007 -- almost a full year before the Corps of Engineers presents its mandated plan to Congress. The state's plan fully integrates coastal restoration and hurricane protection and through a comprehensive, system-wide approach, takes into account the environment, the nation's oil and gas production, fisheries, navigation, and the protection of our coastal communities.

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	Settlement of MMS Lawsuit: In an historic agreement in October with the U.S. Department of Interior, Governor Blanco settled her lawsuit against the Minerals Management Service, requiring MMS to cancel the Central Gulf Lease Sale scheduled for March, 2007, until proper environmental assessment is done on Louisiana's coastline, taking into account impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as cumulative and indirect effects on Louisiana's coastal environment and communities from the onshore hosting of this offshore activity. 

For the first time in the history of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a coastal producing state has a voice in what happens off its coast and has required the Federal government to acknowledge and, hopefully, address the environmental impacts sustained.

The legislation you are considering allows Gulf Coast producing states to address their coastal problems through the steady stream of revenue needed for such large-scale, sustained efforts as those facing the state of Louisiana.

Although the oil and gas found in Federal waters in the Gulf certainly belong to all of our citizens, it is only prudent for our nation to invest in its own domestic energy supply, its environment and the protection of those communities that have historically supported production off their shores for the benefit of the entire nation. In Louisiana's case, revenue sharing is imperative for the state to be able to continue to support the nation's offshore energy needs.

I implore you to vote favorably and pass S 3711 before the 109th Congress adjourns this month.

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org