[Preso] The Impact of Hurricane Katrina from an Environmental

The Impact of Hurricane
Katrina from an Environmental
Perspective
Terry Knister
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Environmental Impact
•
[The] storm gathered steam and drew a bead
on the city. As the whirling maelstrom
approached the coast, more than a million
people evacuated to higher ground. Some
200,000 remained, however—the car-less,
the homeless, the aged and infirm…
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of
a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm
surge into Lake Pontchartrain…Nearly 80
percent of New Orleans lies below sea
level—more than eight feet below in
places—so the water poured in. A liquid
brown wall washed over the brick ranch
homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard
houses of the Ninth Ward…
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Thousands drowned in the murky brew that
was soon contaminated by sewage and
industrial waste…more who survived the
flood later perished … as they waited to be
rescued.
• It was the worst natural disaster in the
history of the United States.
• Source - National Geographic Magazine
“Gone With The Water”
October 2004
•
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Article contended, in October 2004, that the
natural defenses of southern Louisiana and
New Orleans’ were “melting away”
•
From the Mississippi border to the Texas
state line, Louisiana had lost its protective
fringe of marshes and barrier islands faster
than any place in the U.S.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Since the 1930s some 1,900 square miles of
coastal wetlands—an area nearly the size of
Delaware or almost twice that of
Luxembourg—had vanished beneath the
Gulf of Mexico.
•
Despite nearly half a billion dollars spent
over the past decade to stem the tide, the
state continues to lose about 25 square miles
of land each year, roughly one acre every 33
minutes.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Effect of Katrina on wetlands
•
The USGS National Wetlands Research Center has
reported:
• A total of 118 square miles of land has been
transformed to new water areas
• 9,742 square mile area from the Chandeleur Islands to
the Atchafalaya River.
•
The combined land-water changes caused by
Katrina and Rita exceeded all such changes in coastal
Louisiana from previous recent hurricanes combined such
as Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Lili (2002) and Tropical
Storm Isidore (2002).
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
The change from land to water between the
fall of 2004 and 2005 in the Breton Sound
Basin was equivalent to 60% of the total
land-to-water change in the same area
between 1956 and 2004.
•
The change from land to water in all of
coastal Louisiana east of the Mississippi
River from 2004 to 2005 was 72.9 square
miles, exceeding the 60-square miles
projected to occur from a period of 50 years
(2000-2050) by the Louisiana Coastal Area
Ecosystem Restoration Study.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Effect of Oil and Gas Operations ?
Deep offshore wells now account for nearly
a third of all domestic oil production
• Louisiana's Offshore Oil Port - platforms
anchored 18 miles offshore - unload up to
15 percent of the nation's foreign oil
• Most of the oil comes ashore via pipelines
buried in the Louisiana wetlands
•
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Initially geologists believed that the
petroleum deposits were too deep and the
geology of the coast too complex for
drilling to have any impact on the surface
• Now, the U.S.G.S. believes “regional
depressurization” has affected the La
wetlands
•
• the removal of millions of barrels of oil,
trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, and tens of
millions of barrels of saline formation water
lying with the petroleum deposits caused a drop
in subsurface pressure
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Barasich, et al. v. Columbia Gulf
Transmission Co., et al – No. 05-4161 –
USDC, EDLA – filed September 13, 2005
• Class action – proposed plaintiff and defendant
classes
• Defendant Pipeline class and E&P class (6
named defendants in each class)
• Alleges creation of canals in SE LA marshes
for pipelines and drilling sites caused damage
to the “stability and ecological” function of the
marshes in providing protection to the inland
communities from hurricanes
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
• “…but for the negligent actions of the
defendants…Hurricane Katrina’s winds and
storm surge would have been greatly
diminished by the marsh property, thus averting
all, or almost all, of the loss of life and
destruction of property that resulted from
Hurricane Katrina”
• No specific damages prayed for, but plaintiffs
want judgment against the defendants “with
legal interest”
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
12 (b) (6) Motion to Dismiss filed
• Claims nonjusticiable
•
Plaintiffs forcing Court to become involved in federal policy
making
• No legal duty on the part of the defendants to the
plaintiffs
•
La. Supreme Court in Terrebonne Parish School Bd. v. Castex
Energy, Inc., 893 So.2d 789 (La. 2005) – “Although the
temptation to thrust a great part of the solution of to the
problem of coastal restoration upon the oil and gas companies
and other private parties, rather than the state and federal
governments currently faced with underwriting the expense of
restoration, we decline to do so.”
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Oral argument on motion heard by Judge
Vance on June 30, 2006
•
No decision by the Court to date
•
Two other similar suits filed and
consolidated – Villa and Bands
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Constructive solutions
•
LDNR supports a major diversion in the
lower part of the Mississippi River
• Diversion would be well downstream of New
Orleans, in the bird-foot delta at the river’s
mouth, and send the river flooding into the
marshes
• Plan not yet designed, but being discussed at
meeting in Fall 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Mississippi River Reintroduction into
Bayou Lafourche project
• The project would add fresh water to Bayou
Lafourche by increasing the flow of the
Mississippi River into the bayou with a new
pump station and other water-control structures
• The increase in fresh water would benefit about
121,000 acres of downstream marsh and protect
against saltwater intrusion into the bayou
• Also add new sediment to marshes
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
LDNR and LDEQ involved in Proposed
Coast-Wide Debris Management Plan
• Hurricanes Katrina and Rita created over 61
million cubic yards (24.2 million tons) of debris
• Project to use hurricane-generated debris, green
(wood and vegetative) waste, composted matter
and rock/limestone materials for wetland
restoration and protect outlying marsh areas
• No long term effect on water quality
• Very little short term effect on water quality
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
NOAA begins Louisiana Coastal Wetlands
Restoration Project
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Restoration Center and LDNR
have awarded a $17.7 million wetlands restoration
contract that will protect and create 1,400 acres of
wetlands in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.
• The project is located in an area that protects
approximately 3,000 acres of interior marshes
between the Little Lake shoreline and Bayou
L'Ours Ridge.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
The project is designed to prevent erosion along
roughly five miles of Little Lake shoreline; create
490 acres of inter-tidal wetlands along the Little
Lake shoreline; and nourish 530 acres of
intermediate marsh.
•
The project is scheduled for completion as early as
winter 2006.
•
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act funds habitat restoration programs
on an 85 percent - 15 percent cost sharing with the
state of Louisiana.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Other Katrina related litigation
• Gov. Blanco submitted a 24-page letter to the U.S.
Minerals Management Service (MMS), objecting to a
federal lease sale for oil and gas exploration off
Louisiana’s coast.
• Gov. Blanco wants the state to receive a larger share of
the money the federal government makes from oil and
gas exploration off of Louisiana’s coast, but she has
stated she would settle for federal investment in
protection and restoration of wetlands.
• Gov. Blanco filed a lawsuit against MMS in an attempt
to stop the August sale of leases off the Louisiana and
Texas coast
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
• U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt rejected Gov.
Blanco’s request to block the planned sale of federal oil
and gas leases
• While the State’s request was denied, Engelhardt said
that in light of the damage to Louisiana's coast from
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state has a good
chance of proving the federal government did not do
enough to assess the environmental effects of offshore
drilling
• "Given the substantial evidence before this court that
material changes have occurred since the fall of 2002
with respect to the affected baseline environment ... the
plaintiffs' likelihood of success on the merits is strong."
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Murphy Oil Spill – Meraux, LA
• A 250,000 barrel above ground storage tank
was dislodged, lifted and damaged in flooding
associated with Hurricane Katrina
• The tank contained 65,000 barrels of mixed
crude oil, and released approximately 25,110
barrels (1,050,000 gallons), including benzene,
other PAHs, diesel range organic chemicals and
arsenic
• The EPA estimated the released oil impacted
approximately 1700 homes in an adjacent
residential neighborhood, an area of about one
square mile, and at least five major canals.
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
• Class action litigation in USDC, EDLA
• Consolidation of 27 suits, involving approx. 6,200
•
•
•
•
homes (EPA estimate only 1,700 homes)
Reportedly settled this week for $330 million
Murphy would pay for comprehensive cleanup of
property ($90 million) and make a good-faith effort to
purchase homes and property in the neighborhood
closest to the refinery ($160 million)
Class members would receive compensation for
property damage, diminished property value,
inconvenience and mental anguish
The proposed settlement includes $80 million paid so
far to settle roughly 2,700 household claims
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Oil & Gas E&P related debris
• More than 70 platforms and drilling rigs
completely destroyed and more than 40 were
damaged
• More than 1,400 barrels of toxic liquids and
gases are sinking into the coastal wetlands of
the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
• Report submitted to US Fish and Wildlife
estimates 115,000 to 350,000 gallons of
everything from oil and bleach to propane are
contained within those barrels
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
• Four containers of chlorine gas were found and
two entire 18 wheelers, contents unknown,
were identified during the debris survey
• Thousands of non-toxic debris items such as
pieces of vinyl or aluminum siding, insulation,
plywood, corrugated metal, lumber and white
goods, such as refrigerators and water heaters,
which may contain small amounts of toxins
• Much of the debris believed to have originated
from nearby oil and gas facilities
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
Environmental Katrina related
legislation
•
Act 234 –
• Added “roofing nails” to the definition of litter
under LA R.S. 30:2522(4)
• Added “roofing nails” to the list of items for
which gross littering is prohibited under LA
R.S. 30:2531.1
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
•
Act 662 –
• Required the LDEQ to develop and implement
a comprehensive debris management plan for
certain debris generated by natural disasters
• As of August 2006, LDEQ estimated –
•
•
•
22 million tons / 55 million cubic yards as a result of
Katrina
2.4 million tons / 6 million cubic yards as a result of
Rita
Katrina debris alone included 1000s of orphan
drums, 350,000 vehicles, 60,000 vessels, 1.5 million
units of white goods, 500,000 electronic goods and
140,000 to 160,000 flooded/damaged homes
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006
• LDEQ submitted the Debris Management Plan
to the Legislature as of August 26, 2006
• Plan attempts to reuse and recycle material in
an economically beneficial manner
• Plan also attempts to divert debris from
disposal in landfills to the maximum extent
practical and still be protective to human health
and the environment
• Proposed Coast-Wide Debris Management Plan
an example of use of debris
GAMDE Duck Lunch 2006
September 28, 2006