 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
A Cooperating Organziation of:
|
|
| Pay now, or pay more later? |
Members of Congress, who will be asked to foot much of the bill, should view it as a national priority.
-- New York Times 7/4/03
|
This is a prolific area of vital importance to the nation and the world, yet few people are aware of its benefits or what is at stake if we continue to lose it. If nothing is done, the economic and ecological consequences are unthinkable and will have repercussions for generations to come. To fix it will cost billions and will require sustained support from Federal and state governments. The cost of not acting with deliberate speed has been estimated at more than $100 billion in infrastructure alone.
The state of Louisiana is committed to saving America's Wetland. The Governor's Commission on Coastal Restoration and Conservation was legislatively created and the terms of commission members are staggered in order to transcend any one governor's appointments. The present chair of the commission is R. King Milling, president of Whitney National Bank. The commission is instrumental in bringing all stakeholders to the table, from industry to environmental groups, and is playing an important role in helping our legislature and citizens understand the need for a strong commitment to pay our fair cost share of this vital restoration effort.
The citizens of Louisiana have already approved three constitutional amendments that directly address liability and funding issues to ensure our ability to cost share with the Federal government and to further our efforts to sustain the values of this critical coastal area.
The Energy Bill
The Energy Policy Act of 2003, which did not pass this year, had an amendment that provided for sharing offshore oil and gas revenues with coastal states that support Outer Continental Shelf production off their coasts. The funds could have been used for coastal protection and restoration, subsidence, mitigation and wildlife protection, and to secure critical energy infrastructure facilities. It encouraged coordination of implementation plans between states, counties and Federal programs; established priorities of those environmental impacts identified in NEPA analysis, and protected moratoria areas. The automatic spending provision in the bill, however, was stripped.
WRDA (Water Resources Development Act)
Through a 50/50 partnership between the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a feasibility study of the Coast 2050 plan has been completed that addresses restoration efforts in the near-term, the first phase of implementation of the coast-wide, comprehensive approach ultimately needed to sustain the values of Louisiana's coastline. A request for authorization of the near-term plan, the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) plan, died along with the WRDA 2004 bill. However, pressure is building for Congress to pass a WRDA bill in 2005. A favorable report has been signed by the Chief of Engineers that supports the LCA.
CARA
During the past several years, members of Louisiana's Congressional delegation have led an effort, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), to reinvest revenues earned from the depletion of nonrenewable assets (oil and gas reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf), in the conservation of our renewable resources, including the restoration of coastal wetlands. This type of legislation is particularly important to Louisiana since the great majority of the nation's offshore oil and gas revenues come from offshore Louisiana and since the wetlands that protect that distribution and production are being lost at such a dramatic rate. The dependability of CARA-like legislation as a dedicated, steady stream of revenue is of special importance to Louisiana in dealing with a long-term challenge of such enormous scale.
Americans Outdoors Act
Similar to CARA, this bill was recently introduced by Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. The bi-partisan bill includes provisions for automatic spending of OCS revenues for coastal producing states and addresses conservation needs in all states.
OCS Revenue Sharing
No matter what the legislative vehicle, it is critical for the state of Louisiana and other coastal producing states to receive a share of offshore Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas revenues to address the impacts incurred from hosting such activities off their shores. In Louisiana's case, it is beyond critical. It is a matter of survival. Only this type of automatic spending will provide the steady stream of revenue necessary for the scale of restoration needed. OCS revenue sharing is a top priority for the State of Louisiana. |
|
|
| < Previous Page |
|