[StBernard] Lead or Get Out of the Way

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

Earlier this week, I was about three miles off the coast of Grand Isle and
saw firsthand a reportedly 12-mile oil slick aiming towards our fragile
wetlands. We certainly saw lots of oil, but as Fox News
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c155%7c9390&digest
=VdLMJZ6dyVjwG7g5zaq6pA>  reported we didn't see one boat or skimmer on the
water trying to capture or contain the massive slick that has now started to
hit our shores.  Meanwhile, that same day we stood with coastal leaders who
have been waiting for weeks for federal officials to approve the use of
rocks to help narrow passes and block oil from coming into our wetlands
around Grand Isle. We called on the feds to immediately approve the project
so work can begin to stop more heavy oil from hitting Louisiana's coast. 

No skimmers and approval for a containment project stuck in red tape are
just the latest examples of a lack of urgency from the federal government.
This is a battle to defend our Louisiana way of life and we need the federal
government to get in this war to win it. Vice President Biden was in town
yesterday, and as I told FOX 8
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c156%7c9390&digest
=TFiVzqkqxTkltpUcMe%2bN6Q>  in New Orleans, I shared three main concerns
with him. First, the feds need to cut through the red tape so projects and
resources can be quickly approved to fight the oil off our coast before it
enters our fragile wetlands. Second, we need more boom and more skimmers to
prevent the oil from entering our delicate wetlands.  Third, the
consequences of the drilling moratorium are real and devastating.

 
<http://app7.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/account848/images/jindalemail4.jpg

> First, it was our dredging project which took the federal government weeks

to approve. Then, after we finally started building the sand-berms, they
shut it down and left our coast vulnerable to oil. As I mentioned earlier,
local officials are awaiting a response from the feds to place rocks in
western Barataria Bay passes. Our coastal leaders have a plan to narrow the
passes by up to 70 percent with rocks, rigid pipe boom or other measures,
and then place barges with vacuum trucks and sorbent operations in the
remaining gaps. It's been weeks now since local officials requested approval
and the Grand Isle Mayor and I spoke to the President about this project
three weeks ago. The President told us we would get a call within hours. I
told the Vice President about this project yesterday, but it's ridiculous
that we're still fighting red tape when oil continues to rush towards our
coast. As the Thibodaux Daily Comet
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c157%7c9390&digest
=zu6yMnT%2fXx928mSIm6Rv5Q>  reported, the feds seem to think rocks in the
water would cause more damage than the oil that is coming our way.  That
defies logic and common sense. 

I also spoke to the Vice President this week about the need to deploy
resources quickly, including skimmers and boom. There are apparently over
170 skimmers on the way and that's great, but we want to know where they
have been for the past 72 days? We've been asking for these and other
resources for weeks. We also must relax regulatory rules so more skimmers
can be brought in from around the country and the world. 

We also talked to the Vice President about the impact the drilling
moratorium is having on our people. We all want drilling to be done safely,
but we're very concerned about an arbitrary 6-month suspension and also the
fact that the commission set up the President to study the moratorium won't
even hold their first meeting until next month. We also continue to get
mixed signals about claims process for people impacted by the moratorium. I
said yesterday that the process is still as clear as mud because the
President says folks should file claims with BP and BP says they are not
handling claims. The reality though is that our people don't want an
unemployment check or a claims check, they want to go back to work. 

We will continue to push the federal government to join us in the war to
protect our coast. We know what's at stake and we will win this war. It's
time for the feds to lead or get out of the way. 

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal