[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro Addresses House of Representatives

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro Addresses House of
Representatives

Environmental and Engineering Experts Meet to Devise Plan to Protect St.
Bernard Marsh Areas

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. addressed the House of
Representatives in Baton Rouge on Wednesday morning as part of an oil spill
briefing from Governor Bobby Jindal's cabinet, state Attorney General Buddy
Caldwell and several affected parish presidents. All gave an update on oil
spill operations in their parish. President Taffaro expressed that St.
Bernard Parish has been one of the more fortunate parishes in the target
zone, and that the parish has had the benefit of learning lessons from the
more unfortunate parishes which have been greatly affected by oil impact,
such as Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes.

 

President Taffaro's statement to the House follows: 

 

"One of the greatest challenges, especially in St. Bernard Parish, and what
has become strikingly troublesome is that there are not enough resources to
go around simultaneously for the gulf coast region, much less for the State
of Louisiana and its gulf. The responsible party is BP, the Coast Guard is
supposed to own fifty-one percent of the interaction. We know that the local
municipalities actually have the authority. Most of us have subjugated that
in order to cooperate."

 

"One of the issues that we're now starting to face as this disaster moves on
is that the place at the table for the local municipalities is becoming more
and more challenged. If we, as a municipality, have the responsibility to
respond under Louisiana state law and our resources are strangle-held
because the responsible party has the money and the Coast Guard is
overseeing the process, we can have the greatest plan in the world and we
can learn all the lessons that we are and still not be able to implement
them or implement them in a timely manner. That's what we have been seeing
over and over in our neighboring parishes to our west." 

 

"What we fear is that the best laid plans will fall short of an appropriate
response simply because there are not enough resources. There seems to be a
disconnect between the plan that's laid out and what actually happens on the
ground. We understand it's a massive undertaking, but that doesn't really
put bread on the table for these local communities." 

 

 "I'd like to remind you also that there is a trickle-down effect. The local
fishing communities obviously experience this disaster directly. Our
tourism, our restaurants, our suppliers for boats, our suppliers for bait,
our suppliers for repair and virtually every business in the supply chain
has been impacted. That leads us to one final point that I want to make, and
that is the economic devastation that we are experiencing is far from over.
We are currently experiencing a 30 percent production rate in our seafood
with most of our waters still open. But many of our fishermen who live and
breathe the seafood industry know that there is something different in the
water. You will hear that there have been tests taken and sites sampled. But
those sites seem to be not in the places where the oil is coming ashore, nor
does it seem to be where the oil is being found."

 

"My concern is this economic devastation will lead to something we have seen
throughout the Gulf Coast region in relation to Katrina. And that is the
human side of the effects of this disaster. Many of the coastal communities
as you are aware and many of you represent, the human side is where we had
families destroyed, marriages ended, suicide, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
These are the unnamed consequences that continue to spike in the face of
this disaster. While we're talking about capping the well, obviously one of
the most important parts of this response, and while we're talking about
putting enough boats in the water, while we're talking about getting enough
boom, while we're talking about getting enough skimmer activity, while we're
talking about compensating businesses and while we're talking about making
sure that the team approach is supported, please anything that the
legislature can do to put the dollars in place that allows the local
communities to take charge of these responses and not be put on the
sidelines because of a stranglehold of dollars, whatever you can do to that
effect would be appreciated. Thank you."

 

Additionally, a meeting was held at the St. Bernard Parish oil spill command
center later on Wednesday afternoon to discuss solutions to preserve St.
Bernard Parish's natural resources in the marsh areas and to defend them
against possible incoming oil. The meeting was a brainstorming session  with
local Environmental Scientist Dr. Sherwood Gagliano, representatives from
the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration, the U.S. Coast
Guard and Louisiana National Guard, St. Bernard Parish officials and oil
response agencies to explore the possibility of constructing an artificial
barrier for the inland marsh areas. These areas are filled with oyster beds,
estuaries, etc. and need a supplementary line of defense against any
incoming oil. 

 

One idea brought to the table by operations personnel from St. Bernard
Parish is to build sand dams around crucial environmentally sensitive marsh
areas, which will filter water into these vital areas to keep them
sustainable while keeping the oil out of the marshes and contained in the
open water where it is easier to recover. This planning is still in the
beginning phases and will progress as the agencies and experts involved
review the potential drawbacks and benefits of pursuing these types of
options. More research is being conducted by those involved to devise the
best solution to preserve these fragile and important marsh areas.

 

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