Also see: Faults
Thomas L. Holzer, Living with Unstable Ground (2009).
NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program – Science Plan
NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program – Science Plan (2015)
This is mostly vague generalities, but there is a pointed criticism of diversions on page 20:
The impacts of diversions must be vigorously studied before actions are taken. For example, redistribution of sediment through diversion may cause a loss of sediments necessary to build up or maintain land areas that can contribute to land loss. Further, diverted waters may contain high concentrations of nutrients that may result in less robust and resilient marsh grass growth. However, after many years of having been diverted, reestablishment of freshwater flows in some areas may dramatically alter adapted habitats, potentially impacting the abundance of economically important resources.
(Also see: NOAA views on potential environmental risks of Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan)
Executive Summary
The Gulf of Mexico is essential to our nation and our economy, providing valuable seafood, recreational opportunities, transportation routes and ports, energy resources, and a rich cultural heritage. However, the region has been significantly impacted in recent years. The Gulf of Mexico ecosystem has experienced loss of critical wetland habitats, erosion of barrier islands, overfished fish stocks, water quality degradation, significant coastal land loss, and, in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest spill in our nation’s history. To help the region recover, Congress passed the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), which included authorization and funding for a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology Program to be administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
This science plan lays out a path forward for the Program, commonly known as the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program, beginning with the Program’s vision for ‘the long-term sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and the communities that depend on it’ and its mission, as defined in the RESTORE Act, ‘to carry out research, observation, and monitoring to support, to the maximum extent practicable, the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem, fish stocks, fish habitat, and the recreational, commercial, and charter-fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico.’ The legislative requirements of the RESTORE Act also led to the Program’s goal to support the science and coordination necessary for better understanding and management of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, leading to:
• Healthy, diverse, sustainable, and resilient estuarine, coastal and marine habitats and living resources (including wildlife and fisheries); and
• Resilient and adaptive coastal communities. By pursuing this mission and accomplishing this goal, the Program anticipates the following outcomes:
• The Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem is understood in an integrative, holistic manner; and
• Management of, and restoration activities within, the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem are guided by this ecosystem understanding.
US Cap and Trade Resources
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector.
President Obama’s Climate Action Plan
Read President Obama’s Climate Action Plan in its entirety and fact sheet.
In June 2013, President Obama put forward a broad-based plan to cut the carbon pollution that causes climate change and affects public health. Cutting carbon pollution will help spark business innovation to modernize our power plants, resulting in cleaner forms of American-made energy that will create good jobs and cut our dependence on foreign oil. Combined with the Administration’s other actions to increase the efficiency of our cars and household appliances, the President’s plan will reduce the amount of energy consumed by American families, cutting down on their gas and utility bills. The plan, which consists of a wide variety of executive actions, has three key pillars:
- Cut Carbon Pollution in America – In 2012, U.S. carbon pollution from the energy sector fell to the lowest level in two decades even as the economy continued to grow. To build on this progress, the Obama Administration is putting in place tough new rules to cut carbon pollution—just like we have for other toxins like mercury and arsenic —so we protect the health of our children and move our economy toward American-made clean energy sources that will create good jobs and lower home energy bills.
- Prepare the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change – Even as we take new steps to cut carbon pollution, we must also prepare for the impacts of a changing climate that are already being felt across the country. Moving forward, the Obama Administration will help state and local governments strengthen our roads, bridges, and shorelines so we can better protect people’s homes, businesses and way of life from severe weather.
- Lead International Efforts to Combat Global Climate Change and Prepare for its Impacts – Just as no country is immune from the impacts of climate change, no country can meet this challenge alone. That is why it is imperative for the United States to couple action at home with leadership internationally. America must help forge a truly global solution to this global challenge by galvanizing international action to significantly reduce emissions, prepare for climate impacts, and drive progress through the international negotiations.
Wetland Restoration and Community-Based Development Bayou Bienvenue, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has proposed restoring degraded cypress swamp— including the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle— by diverting the treatment plant’s partially treated effluent into the wetland. This practice, known as wastewater assimilation, may aid the restoration of the degraded swamp by increasing inputs of nutrients and fresh water. Potential benefits of this proposed project include increased cypress growth, decreased operating costs for the East Bank Sewage Treatment Plant, and a restored environmental resource for area residents.
The surrounding community, the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, is still recovering from the devastation and chaos caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Current awareness of potential protective benefits from intact wetlands and fond memories of the cypress swamp of earlier years have earned the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle restoration a place in the community’s ambitious, long-term, sustainable recovery plans.
For Lower Ninth Ward residents this project is a source of hope and inspiration, but there are serious obstacles and numerous uncertainties. The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board is evaluating several locations as potential sites for this wastewater assimilation project; it is possible that the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle may not be chosen as one of these sites, or that its conditions may even make it unsuitable for consideration.
In order to better understand the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle’s potential for restoration, the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association of the Lower Ninth Ward requested that Water Resources Management students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison study the wetland and share their findings with the community. In the summer of 2007, the Water Resources Management group conducted an environmental characterization of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle, researched wastewater assimilation techniques, and examined the post-Katrina social context surrounding this restoration proposal.
The Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle is a 427- acre body of open water with an average depth of about two feet, and approximately one foot daily variation in response to tidal forces. The wetland’s primary water sources and sinks are currently tideinduced surface water flow into and out of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle. Through the years, engineering projects have dramatically altered the natural hydrology of the area, resulting in decreased sediment, nutrient, and freshwater input, and enabling a gradual intrusion of salt water.
The Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle supports a functioning ecosystem, although it contrasts starkly with the former cypress swamp. A sole surviving cypress tree exists in the extreme northwestern corner of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle. The wetland is now open water dominated by submerged aquatic vegetation and dotted with stumps of dead cypress trees. Surprisingly, the standing stumps and submerged snags of former cypress trees still provide habitat for a variety of aquatic life and waterfowl.
Based on the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle’s current (2007) environmental conditions, it is unlikely that the area can be restored to a sustainable cypress swamp solely by means of wastewater assimilation. However, supplementing this approach with a secondary supply of sediment to the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle would increase the probability of success; the current water depth and insufficient exposure of sediment to oxygen due to lack of water level fluctuation are critical obstacles to restoring a self-sustaining cypress community. Salinity levels are higher than the optimal range for reintroduction of cypress trees. The impending closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet may slow, and perhaps reverse, the trend of increasing salinity.
The National Flood Insurance Program Does Not Cover Debris Removal
Torre v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., No. 14-2733
In a case of first impression, the Third Circuit rules that the NFIP does not cover debris removal from property because it does not cover land. There is useful discussion of the construction of the NFIP form policy.
Louisiana Parish Lawsuits Against the Oil Industry for Wetlands Destruction
(Also see: Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit)
Newest Developments
Original Complaint – City of New Orleans/Orleans Parish v the oil industry for wetlands destruction.
Original Pleading – Parish of Plaquemines v. Total Petrochemical & Ref. USA, Inc., etc
Exhibit List – Parish of Plaquemines v. Total Petrochemical & Ref. USA, Inc., etc
Notice of Removal – Parish of Plaquemines v. Total Petrochemical & Ref. USA, Inc., etc
The Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax
Ocean Acidification
The Increasing Application of Criminal Law in Accidents and Disasters
The Clason Lecture, presented Thursday, March 26, 2015. Slides
Legal resources for coastal erosion and marsh destruction claims
Also see: Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit; Louisiana Parish Lawsuits Against the Oil Industry for Wetlands Destruction
Law Professor’s Brief on Louisiana Public Trust Doctrine
Terrebonne Parish Sch. Bd. v. Castex Energy, Inc., 893 So. 2d 789 (La 2005)
“We reverse the First Circuit’s judgment and its holding that the law
and/or the executed contracts in this case impose an implied duty
upon Samson and Bois D’Arc to restore the surface of the leased land
to its pre-lease condition by backfilling the canals, and we vacate
the court of appeal’s order compelling specific performance of this
ostensible duty. We also find that the language of the contractual
assignment to Bois D’Arc did not establish an express duty to restore
the surface. Our resolution of these issues obviates the need to
consider the defendants’ five alternative arguments alluded to
earlier, including the argument that the court erred in finding that
Samson’s attempted assignment to Castex was ineffective.
REVERSED AND RENDERED”
This was a claim against the oil company for not restoring wetlands that had been leased for oil exploration and development by the school district.
Barasich v. Columbia Gulf Transmission Co., 467 F. Supp. 2d 676 (E.D. La. 2006)
Federal district court dismisses claims by plaintiffs that defendant oil companies increased the damage by Hurricane Katrina by destroying wetlands by cutting canals. There is an extensive discussion of the political question doctrine, which the court finds inapplicable. The case was dismissed because there was no duty to protect and because Louisiana does not recognize market share liability (holding a group of defendants liable without showing each individual defendant’s contribution to the injury).
Marin v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 48 So. 3d 234 (LA 2010)
This case deals with the statute of limitations (prescription) on claims based on damages caused by oil and gas exploration and development. This was not reached by the judge in the dismissal because she found no valid claims, thus no need to decide if it was too late to bring them. The courts uses a reasonably should have known standard for starting the clock. Since all the claimed damages have been discussed in the scientific and popular literature since the 1980s, it is likely that it is past time to sue for them for the levee board, which has no legal relationships with the defendants.
A century ago, our Court of Appeals recognized that, among those rights acquired upon admission to the Union, the State owns and holds “in trust” the lands under navigable waters within its borders, “including the shores or space between ordinary high and low water marks, for the benefit of the people of the state.” Lake Sand Co. v. State, 68 Ind. App. 439, 445, 120 N.E. 714, 716 (1918) (quoting Ex parte Powell, 70 Fla. 363, 372, 70 So. 392, 395 (1915)). And Indiana “in its sovereign capacity is without power to convey or curtail the right of its people in the bed of Lake Michigan.” Id. at 446, 120 N.E. at 716. This Court has since affirmed these principles. See State ex rel. Indiana Department of Conservation v. Kivett, 228 Ind. 623, 630, 95 N.E.2d 145, 148 (1950). But the question remains: What is the precise boundary at which the State’s ownership interest ends and private property interests begin?
Today, we hold that the boundary separating public trust land from privately-owned riparian land along the shores of Lake Michigan is the common-law ordinary high water mark and that, absent an authorized legislative conveyance, the State retains exclusive title up to that boundary. We therefore affirm the trial court’s ruling that the State holds title to the Lake Michigan shores in trust for the public but reverse the court’s decision that private property interests here overlap with those of the State.
Climate Change, Coastal Restoration, Coastal Restoration Mythology, Geologic History, LA Plan, Mississippi River, Sea Level Rise, Subsidence, Teaching Materials