[StBernard] White House approves plans to build sand berms

[Westley Annis]

White House approves plans to build sand berms 

by Paul Murphy / Eyewitness News

wwltv.com

Posted on June 2, 2010 at 5:32 PM

Updated yesterday at 5:32 PM 


VENICE, La. -- Gov. Bobby Jindal has received word from the White House that
the federal government is forcing BP to pay for the dredging to create
barrier islands on the Louisiana coastline.

Jindal's announcement came about 20 minutes into his press conference in
Venice, after an aide interrupted his Q&A to give him the news.

"We just received word from the White House that they are going to require
BP to fund the five remaining segments," Jindal said.

Jindal called on BP and the federal government Tuesday to pay for his
ambitious plan to build sand berms on the state's barrier islands to catch
the oil offshore and keep it from getting to sensitive inland marshes.

Until Wednesday, the Coast Guard had only approve one segment of the six the
governor had requested. Jindal said as it stands, the state now has
permission to proceed with about 40 miles of sand barriers.

"I want to thank the White House. Certainly, it's a step forward," Jindal
said. "We would have preferred it came through weeks ago, we would have
preferred they approved the whole plan. But today is a step forward.

"Now I'm calling on BP, and I'm calling on the federal government: Help us
to make sure BP is a responsible party. Thank you for approving our entire
six segments, but now I'm calling on you, don't let it be an approval on
paper alone."

Jindal and Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser took another boat tour
Wednesday into the coastal marshes near Venice. They reported a new stretch
of thick oil in the Mississippi River Delta and a little progress on the
cleanup in Pass a Loutre, the first marsh soiled by BP sludge several weeks
ago.

"Here we are weeks later, two weeks later, and we are seeing another part of
southeast Louisiana devastated with oil, Southeast Pass. Breaks my heart,"
Nungesser said. "Here we are two weeks later, where we identified heavy oil
in Pass a Loutre and it still has heavy oil. Where are the cleanup crews?"

Jindal said the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the
Department of Natural Resources have already put BP on notice. They face
heavy fines for polluting Louisiana waterways.

"We are absolutely confident we will get money from BP. Money cannot replace
the wetlands that are being damaged, that are in some cases are being
destroyed out there by this oil," Jindal said.

The governor kept saying in his press conference that BP is the responsible
party, but so far the company has not been very responsible when it comes to
the cleanup. He is now challenging the federal government to keep BP honest.