Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom. Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of the Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.

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Louisiana House Representative La Fonta Introduces Bill to Study Coastal Erosion Caused by Oil Company Canals

At the request of Save Our Wetlands Inc.(SOWL), Louisiana State Represenative Juann La Fonta introduces the House Concurrent Resolution 136, requesting that a coastal erosion study be done by L.S.U. concerning damages done by the oil companies' construction of 10,000 miles of canals and navigational channels thru Louisiana wetlands, and what can be done to rectify the situation. Cost of the study is to be paid by Shell Oil and other oil companies.

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Text of HCR 136 follows:

HLS 06RS-2563
ORIGINAL
Regular Session, 2006
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 136
BY REPRESENTATIVE LAFONTA

COASTAL RES/COASTAL ZONE: Requests LSU to develop a plan for dealing with the effects of canals on coastal wetlands

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To urge and request the LSU School of the Coast and Environment to develop a plan to mitigate the damage caused by dredging oil and gas canals in Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

WHEREAS, Louisiana has lost nearly one quarter of her coastal wetlands with at least a third of this loss a result of the impacts of over ten thousand miles of oil and gas access and pipeline canals that were dredged by the oil and gas companies; and

WHEREAS, these canals have irreparably altered the hydrology of the marshes and have adversely impacted the ecology of the coastal marshes through the physical loss of marsh terrain, the creation of spoil banks, and the impairment of the natural ebb and flow of tidal waters; and

WHEREAS, the oil and gas companies that dredged the canals have historically failed to back-fill the canals once they were no longer necessary for oil and gas operations and have failed to mitigate the damage done by the dredging of the canals; and

WHEREAS, these canals have a direct and indirect impact on the coastal wetlands of Louisiana where the dredging of a pipeline canal and the placement of dredged material on the adjacent wetland creates open water and upland shrub habitat and where the canals continue to erode through the years causing the loss of more and more wetlands; and

WHEREAS, tidal and freshwater movement is essential for the distribution of inorganic sediments and organic matter and marsh vegetation acts to trap sediments and build organic soil thereby building wetlands and marshes rather than destroying the very land essential to the existence of Louisiana's coastal wetlands; and

WHEREAS, the buildup of organic soils allows the growth of marsh vegetation, which in turn stabilizes the soil with a dense mat of live roots, which provide essential protection against erosion; and

WHEREAS, the buildup of spoil banks has contributed to the destruction of indigenous vegetation and led to the replacement of vegetation with open ponds that contribute to erosion and wetlands and marsh loss and allow saltwater intrusion which then destroys more vegetation that cannot grow in salty conditions; and

WHEREAS, the presence of the canals throughout coastal Louisiana has disrupted the ecosystem and the natural processes that maintain and regenerate the marsh hydrology and cause land loss significant enough to have been a major factor in the degree of destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where storm surge would have been several feet lower if there had been sufficient marsh and wetland to slow the surge as it raced across the coastal wetlands into areas where the citizens of Louisiana live; and

WHEREAS, it is essential for the protection of the citizens of Louisiana and, in fact, the protection of Louisiana herself, that we maintain healthy coastal wetlands and marshes for our economic and cultural health but also for our very survival.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the LSU School of the Coast and Environment to develop a plan to mitigate the damage caused by dredging oil and gas canals in Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan developed should include restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands and marshes destroyed by the dredging of the canals and through the continued erosion of wetlands by the presence of the canals, that the plan should include mitigation of the impacts of spoil banks, and that the plan should identify methods to minimize the future impacts of such dredging and such canals possibly through requirements for back-filling.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the development of the plan should be funded by the oil and gas companies responsible for dredging the canals, including but not limited to Columbia Gulf Transmission Company, Koch Pipeline Company, L.P., Gulf Pipeline Company, L.P., Shell Pipeline Company, L.P., Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corporation, Shell Oil Company, ExxonMobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation, and BP Corporation North America, Inc.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the dean of the LSU School of the Coast and Environment and Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association.

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DIGEST

The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the legislative instrument.

LaFonta
HCR No. 136

Requests the LSU School of the Coast and Environment to develop a plan to mitigate the damage caused by dredging oil and gas canals in Louisiana's coastal wetlands with the study to be funded by the oil and gas companies responsible for dredging of the canals.