Dear friends:

Please find below the text of a letter Sierra Club sent today to Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, expressing our concerns with the Gulf RESTORE bill. The current bill is missing several elements needed to ensure meaningful coastal restoration and recovery of the Gulf’s ecosystems and communities.

Sierra Club strongly supports the goal of the bill to distribute 80% of Clean Water Act (CWA) fines levied against BP to the five Gulf Coast states. We also want to make sure that the bill is strengthened to provide accountability and public trust; create mechanisms for public engagement; and ensure consistency and increase scrutiny of projects (especially those selected by the Governors of the Gulf coast states).

A copy of the full Gulf RESTORE bill is attached. Please contact me if you have any questions about the bill or Sierra Club’s position.

Frank

Frank Jackalone
Senior Organizing Manager/ FL & PR
Sierra Club
111 Second Avenue, Suite 1001
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

August 4, 2011

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
410 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-6175

RE: Strengthening RESTORE Bill

Dear Chairman Boxer,

On behalf of our 1.2 million members nationwide, which includes more than 75,000 members across the five Gulf Coast states, we are writing to express our appreciation for your continued support on Gulf recovery issues, and to respectfully ask that you strengthen the current Gulf legislation being considered by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).

Over the past sixteen months, the Sierra Club has worked alongside our members and allies to ensure that the effort to restore the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystems, communities, and economies is driven from the ground up and guided by the principles of transparency, accountability, and independent science. The Sierra Club has advocated strongly for a public seat at the decision-making table, recognizing that widespread feelings of mistrust and lack of transparency continue to color restoration and slow recovery efforts.

We appreciate that the RESTORE the Gulf Coast bill currently under consideration by EPW would direct 80% of the anticipated Clean Water Act (CWA) fines levied against BP to the five Gulf Coast states. Indeed, this reflects Secretary Mabus’ and the National Oil Spill Commission’s recommendations as well as the repeated requests of countless NGOs and Gulf leaders, including the Sierra Club.

The Sierra Club, however, believes the current bill is missing several elements that would ensure meaningful coastal restoration and recovery of the Gulf’s ecosystems and communities. We respectfully request EPW add the following provisions to the bill to address these serious deficiencies.

Provide Accountability & Restore Public Trust

Concerns about the mismanagement of federal monies distributed during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina recovery process underscore the need for a transparent, accountable process to apply and distribute CWA funds by:

Creating a Science Advisory Committee comprised of independent scientists from around the Gulf Coast to provide input on restoration project selection, implementation, and monitoring processes.

Requiring an annual legislative audit by the Government Accounting Office or an independent auditor located outside the five Gulf states.

Ensuring the full application of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Create Mechanisms for Public Engagement

Ensure the full application of NEPA by requiring the Gulf states and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to establish formal public comment periods and holding public hearings during the development of the Comprehensive and State Plans as well as all proposed restoration projects and programs.

Create a permanent Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (RCAC) comprised of community leaders and stakeholders from the affected Gulf states to improve communications and provide long-term oversight of future oil industry actions.

Ensure Consistency and Increase Scrutiny of Projects

Ensure that all plans and projects developed and implemented under the statute are consistent with the goals and processes of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, and are approved by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.

A Stop Gap/Do No Harm clause is necessary to ensure funds prioritize ecosystem restoration over economic development, such as: “Amounts provided under this bill may not be used for activities that destroy or degrade the health, diversity, or viability of natural coastal or marine ecosystems” and “No more than 10 percent of the funds received by a state in any fiscal year may be expended on projects that are primarily intended for economic development rather than restoration of the natural coastal or marine ecosystem” (Note: A definition of ‘economic development projects’ also is necessary).

Section 4 that deals with 30% Impact Formula Allocation with Oversight by the Council allows for the states to bring the Secretary of Treasury to Federal Court if the Council fails to act within sixty days or disapproves a project. This language is burdensome and creates a hostile atmosphere for decision-making.

Section 5 that identifies disciplines for grant monies annually awarded by the Gulf Coast Centers of Excellence includes, “Offshore energy development” and “Sustainable and resilient growth, economic and commercial development”. This language does not appear aligned with the principles of ecosystem restoration.

We appreciate your consideration of these issues and look forward to working with you to restore the Gulf and its communities. Thank you for considering this important request. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Jill Mastrototaro, Gulf Coast Protection Campaign Director, at jill.mastrototaro@sierraclub.org or (504) 861-4835.

Sincerely,

Debbie Sease
Sierra Club

Special thanks to Frank Jackalone

SkyTruth Alerts: Shell reported spilling nearly 5000 gallons of drilling mud into the Gulf on July 31:
http://alerts.skytruth.org/report?id=68c9de7b-cb72-3fd1-9f72-11b1f2edc64d

This is in very deep water (>7800′), the Perdido field in Alaminos Canyon Block 859 about 150 miles off the TX coast right near the EEZ boundary. Perdido is actually a cluster of separate fields that will all be jointly produced from a massive floating spar.

And yes, Perido does indeed mean “lost.” – John
—
John Amos – President, SkyTruth
John@skytruth.org
P.O. Box 3283
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-3283
(o) 304.885.4581 (m) 304.260.8886
skype: skytruth.amos

________________

http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=984448

NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER 1-800-424-8802
*** For Public Use ***
Information released to a third party shall comply with any
applicable federal and/or state Freedom of Information and Privacy Laws

Incident Report # 984448

INCIDENT DESCRIPTION
*Report taken at 18:02 on 31-JUL-11

Incident Type: VESSEL

Incident Cause: OPERATOR ERROR
Affected Area: GULF OF MEXICO

The incident was discovered on 31-JUL-11 at 15:30 local time.

Affected Medium: WATER GULF OF MEXICO

____________________________________________________________________________

SUSPECTED RESPONSIBLE PARTY

Organization: SHELL INTERNATIONAL

NEW ORLEANS, LA 70161

Type of Organization: PRIVATE ENTERPRISE

____________________________________________________________________________

INCIDENT LOCATION

BLOCK 859 County: ALAMINOS CANYON AREA
State: TX

____________________________________________________________________________

RELEASED MATERIAL(S)

CHRIS Code: DRM Official Material Name: DRILLING MUD (LOW TOXICITY)

Also Known As:

Qty Released: 117 BARREL(S) Qty in Water: 117 BARREL(S)

____________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT

THE CALLER STATED IT WAS DETERMINED THAT SYNTHETIC MUD WAS PUMPED OVERBOARD FROM A PERMITTED DISCHARGE POINT INSTEAD OF SEAWATER AFTER NOTICING A DISCREPANCY OF 117 BBLS OF MUD.

____________________________________________________________________________

INCIDENT DETAILS

Platform Rig Name:
Platform Letter:
Location Area ID:
Location Block ID:
OCSG Number:
OCSP Number:
State Lease Number:
Pier Dock Number:
Berth Slip Number:

—WATER INFORMATION—
Body of Water: GULF OF MEXICO
Tributary of:
Nearest River Mile Marker:
Water Supply Contaminated: NO

—VESSEL INFORMATION—
Name: NOBLE DANNY Number: Aground: NO
Flag:
Length: Breadth: Draught:
Type: DRILLING RIG
Hull Construction:
Fuel Capacity:
Fuel on Board:
Cargo Capacity:
Cargo on Board:

____________________________________________________________________________

DAMAGES

Fire Involved: NO Fire Extinguished: UNKNOWN

INJURIES:

NO

Hospitalized:

Empl/Crew:

Passenger:

FATALITIES:

NO

Empl/Crew:

Passenger:

Occupant:

EVACUATIONS:

NO

Who Evacuated:

Radius/Area:

Damages:

NO

Length of

Direction of

Closure Type

Description of Closure

Closure

Closure

Air:

N

Road:

N

Major Artery:

N

Waterway:

N

Track:

N

Passengers Transferred: NO

Environmental Impact: UNKNOWN

Media Interest: NONE Community Impact due to Material:

____________________________________________________________________________

REMEDIAL ACTIONS

SECURED DISCHARGE POINT.

Release Secured: YES
Release Rate:
Estimated Release Duration:

____________________________________________________________________________

WEATHER

Weather: CLEAR, ºF Wind speed: 11 KNTS

Wave Condition: 2 SLIGHT (1 – 3 FT)

____________________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AGENCIES NOTIFIED

Federal:

NONE

State/Local:

NONE

State/Local On Scene:

NONE

State Agency Number:

NONE

____________________________________________________________________________

NOTIFICATIONS BY NRC

CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S DEPT (CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT)

31-JUL-11

18:13

VESSEL RESPONSE PLAN PROGRAM (CG-3PCV-1)

31-JUL-11

18:13

DHS NOC (NOC)

31-JUL-11

18:13

USCG ICC (ICC ONI)

31-JUL-11

18:13

CG INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE HQ (WFO)

31-JUL-11

18:13

DHS PROTECTIVE SECURITY ADVISOR (PSA DESK)

31-JUL-11

18:13

DHS TEXAS FUSION CENTER (INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS)

31-JUL-11

18:13

DOT CRISIS MANAGEMENT CENTER (MAIN OFFICE)

31-JUL-11

18:13

JFO-LA (COMMAND CENTER)

31-JUL-11

18:13

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COORD CTR (MAIN OFFICE)

31-JUL-11

18:13

NOAA RPTS FOR TX (MAIN OFFICE)

31-JUL-11

18:13

SECTOR CORPUS CHRISTI (COMMAND CENTER)

31-JUL-11

18:15

TEXAS STATE OPERATIONS CENTER (COMMAND CENTER)

31-JUL-11

18:13

____________________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

NONE.

___________________________________________________________________________

*** END INCIDENT REPORT #

984448

***
Special thanks to Richard Charter

Congress needs to end its dependence on all special interest money
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/174977-congress-needs-to-end-its-dependence-on-all-special-interest-money

Noticeably absent from this week’s debt ceiling deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans were the billions in taxpayer subsidies Congress continues to dole out to Big Oil, despite overwhelming support among Americans to end these handouts and in the face of staggering oil company profits released last week. When it came to taking on Big Oil, Congress and the Obama administration blinked.

Cutting Medicare for low and middle-income seniors? On the table. Closing loopholes for profitable, multinational corporations? Not under discussion.
The world’s largest oil companies announced another round of billion dollar profits last week. BP made $5.6 billion. Shell got even more, with over $8 billion. And ExxonMobil’s profits were $10.7 billion – an astounding $117 million a day from April to June. Gas prices are still at record levels and everyday taxpayers are footing the bill for billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies these companies get every year. Big Oil is making big profits-and the American people are paying the price. In fact, we’re paying it twice – once when we fill up our tanks and once when we pay taxes.

And while the 12-member “Super Congress” that will be appointed as part of the deal would technically put cuts to these subsidies on the table, you can bet oil companies will harness their significant political clout to keep their free money. With just 12 members to focus on-instead of 535–that pressure might be even stronger.

Why do these oil companies have so much sway? Just follow the money. A recent report from Public Campaign Action Fund and the League of Conservation Voters found that 93.5 percent (159 of 170) of U.S. House members who received campaign contributions from the political action committees (PACs) of the largest oil companies in the first half of the year voted to maintain these wasteful subsidies. And the three top Republicans in the House – House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – received a combined $96,000 in dirty energy money from these PACs in the first six months of the year alone.

In the 2010 cycle, oil and gas interests spent $22.3 million on campaign contributions to members of Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the first three months of 2011, the industry spent $39 million on 643 lobbyists, easily outnumbering the 535 representatives and senators we send to Washington to work for us.

Big Oil has been generous to members of Congress over the years, and in the pay to play ways of Washington, politicians avoid anything that disrupts or slows their steady fundraising stream. Recent votes and hearings in the House and Senate are a perfect example.

In May, just two days after voting to maintain the oil subsidies, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) held an “Oil & Gas Industry Breakfast” fundraiser. A day before the subsidies vote, BP’s political action committee delivered a $2,000 check to him.

The morning of the same vote, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) held an “energy industry” breakfast fundraiser. The day before the vote and this fundraiser, he also got a $2,000 contribution from BP.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a public hearing on May 24th to lay blame on government regulations of energy production for distorting markets. On May 25th, Issa’s leadership PAC got $2,500 from the PAC of energy industry giant Koch Industries.

The list goes on. But you get the point. Members of Congress are serving two masters in Congress, their constituents and their dirty energy campaign donors. Too often, it’s the latter that wins out.

Congress needs to end its dependence on all special interest money, not just Big Oil’s money, by passing the Fair Elections Now Act, legislation that would allow members of Congress to run competitive campaigns for office by relying on people back home. With Fair Elections, members of Congress could vote based on what’s best for their country and constituents, not their campaign bank accounts.

But until then, though, Congress needs to get its priorities straight. Ending these wasteful subsidies should come before cutting Medicare or other programs that provide security for middle class families. A lot of people in Washington are talking about “shared sacrifice” to address our deficit. Any sane plan to rein in spending should include ending wasteful subsidies, but to do that, we may find out that we will need to rein in Big Oil’s political influence first.

Steve Kretzmann is the executive director of Oil Change International. David Donnelly is the national campaigns director for Public Campaign Action Fund. Both organizations are founding members of the Dirty Energy Money Campaign .

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-whoi-microbes-consumed-oil-gulf.html

This study reveals the powerful effect of microbes on oil spills; they represent a viable alternative to the dangerous widespread application of dispersants. DV

August 1st, 2011 in Space & Earth / Environment

More than a year after the largest oil spill in history, perhaps the dominant lingering question about the Deepwater Horizon spill is, “What happened to the oil?” Now, in the first published study to explain the role of microbes in breaking down the oil slick on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers have come up with answers that represent both surprisingly good news and a head-scratching mystery.

In research scheduled to be published in the Aug. 2 online edition of Environmental Research Letters, the WHOI team studied samples from the surface oil slick and surrounding Gulf waters. They found that bacterial microbes inside the slick degraded the oil at a rate five times faster than microbes outside the slick—accounting in large part for the disappearance of the slick some three weeks after Deepwater Horizon’s Macondo well was shut off.

At the same time, the researchers observed no increase in the number of microbes inside the slick—something that would be expected as a byproduct of increased consumption, or respiration, of the oil. In this process, respiration combines food (oil in this case) and oxygen to create carbon dioxide and energy.

“What did they do with the energy they gained from this increased respiration?” asked WHOI chemist Benjamin Van Mooy, senior author of the study. “They didn’t use it to multiply. It’s a real mystery,” he said.

Van Mooy and his team were nearly equally taken aback by the ability of the microbes to chow down on the oil in the first place. Going into the study, he said, “We thought microbe respiration was going to be minimal.” This was because nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus—usually essential to enable microbes to grow and make new cells—were scarce in the water and oil in the slick. “We thought the microbes would not be able to respond,” Van Mooy said.

But the WHOI researchers found, to the contrary, that the bacteria not only responded, but did so at a very high rate. They discovered this by using a special sensor called an oxygen optode to track the changing oxygen levels in water samples taken from the slick. If the microbes were respiring slowly, then oxygen levels would decrease slowly; if they respired quickly, the oxygen would decrease quickly.

“We found that the answer was ‘quick,'” Van Mooy said. “By a lot.”

Bethanie Edwards, a biochemist in Van Mooy’s lab and lead author of the paper, said she too was “very surprised” by the amount of oil consumption by the microbes. “It’s not what we expected to see.” She added that she was also “a little afraid” that oil companies and others might use the results to try to convince the public that spills can do relatively little harm. “They could say, ‘Look, we can put oil into the environment and the microbes will eat it,'” she said.

Edwards, a graduate student in the joint MIT/WHOI program, pointed out that this is not completely the case, because oil is composed of a complex mixture molecules, some of which the microbes are unable to break down.

“Oil is still detrimental to the environment, ” she said, “because the molecules that are not accessible to microbes persist and could have toxic effects.” These are the kinds of molecules that can get into the food web of both offshore and shoreline environments, Edwards and Van Mooy said. In addition, Edwards added, the oil that is consumed by microbes “is being converted to carbon dioxide that still gets into the atmosphere.”

Follow-up studies already “are in place,” Van Mooy says, to address the “mysterious” finding that the oil-gorging microbes do not appear to manufacture new cells. If the microbes were eating the oil at such a high rate, what did they do with the energy? Van Mooy, Edwards, and their colleagues hypothesize that they may convert the energy to some other molecule, like sugars or fats. They plan to use “state-of-the-art methods” under development in their laboratory to look for bacterial fat molecules, a focus of Van Mooy’s previous work. The results, he says, “could show where the energy went.”

Van Mooy said he isn’t sure exactly what fraction of the oil loss in the spill is due to microbial consumption; other processes, including evaporation, dilution, and dispersion, might have contributed to the loss of the oil slick. But the five-fold increase in the microbe respiration rate suggests it contributed significantly to the oil breakdown. “Extrapolating our observations to the entire area of the oil slick supports the assertion microbes had the potential to degrade a large fraction of the oil as it arrived at the surface from the well,” the researchers say in their paper.

“This is the first published study to put numbers on the role of microbes in the degradation of the oil slick,” said Van Mooy. “Our study shows that the dynamic microbial community of the Gulf of Mexico supported remarkable rates of oil respiration, despite a dearth of dissolved nutrients,” the researchers said.

Edwards added that the results suggest “that microbes had the metabolic potential to break down a large portion of hydrocarbons and keep up with the flow rate from the wellhead.”
Provided by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-08/01/content_13019025.htm

China Daily

Deadline for oil leak clean up
Updated: 2011-08-01 07:05
By Wang Qian (China Daily)

A man moves a stack of dead scallops on July 26 in Laoting county, Hebei province. The province’s fisheries have suffered as a result of the oil leaks in Bohai Bay. [Photo/ China Daily]

BEIJING – Oil leaks continue at two platforms operated by ConocoPhillips in Bohai Bay, more than two weeks after authorities ordered them to shut down, China’s ocean watchdog said on Friday.

The State Oceanic Administration has ordered the company to stop the leaks, contain the oil spills, clean up polluted areas and conduct a thorough investigation to eliminate the possibility of further oil spills before Aug 31.

Several oil belts were detected by the administration on July 27 in a 4.6-square-kilometer area to the east of the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, and the administration’s surveillance has determined that Platform C is still leaking about 2.52 liters of oil a day and that there are more oil slicks near Platform B.

ConocoPhillips reportedly admitted that “small and intermittent spills” are still being detected at Platform B and said it will make efforts to clean up the spills before the deadline, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

The administration also ordered ConocoPhillips to provide a report by an independent evaluation authority once the leaks have been stopped and the spills contained.

Pollutants from the oil spill have been found on beaches in North China’s Hebei province, and fisheries there are complaining that the disaster has caused the death of a large number of scallops.

“According to our statistics, about 70 percent of the scallops have died due to the oil leak, with economic losses reaching at least 200 million yuan ($30 million),” Yang Jizhen, chairman of the Laoting Fisheries Association, told China Daily.

About 30 boxes of dead scallops have been collected and stored as evidence since July 17, Yang said.

Around 160 households in Laoting county in the province rely on fisheries and related work for their livelihoods and they are planning to file a lawsuit against ConocoPhillips, the operator of the Penglai oilfield and its partner, China National Offshore Oil Corp, he added.

Qi Yuxiang, deputy director of the Laoting aquatic product bureau said they are checking every household to calculate the losses, but he is more worried about the potential long-term effects on exports. Aquatic products in Laoting are exported to Japan and the Republic of Korea.

According to statistics released by the administration on July 12, 4,240 sq km of coastal waters have been contaminated by the leak.

The administration ordered Houston-based ConocoPhillips to shut down production at the two platforms on July 13 because of the company’s inability to contain the oil leaks at platforms B and C.

The company has estimated that about 1,500 to 2,000 barrels of oil and oil-based drilling fluids have been released into the sea.

_________________________

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-07/29/content_13014733.htm

China Daily

Sun, July 31, 2011

Oil still leaking at 2 platforms on NE China sea
Updated: 2011-07-29 20:09
(Xinhua)

QINGDAO – Oil continues to leak at ConocoPhillips’s two platforms in northeast Bohai Bay more than two weeks after Chinese authorities ordered a shutdown of their output, said China’s oceanic watchdog on Friday.

Remote satellite sensing and a survey made by a patrol boat of the sea area on Wednesday and Thursday, both conducted by the China State Oceanic Administration (SOA), identified several oil belts in an area of 4.6 square kilometers to the east of the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, though ConocoPhilips’s oil-cleaning efforts continue.

The surveillance has determined that the oilfield’s platform C is leaking at a speed of about 2.52 liters per day and found oil belts near platform B despite the company’s cleaning efforts, said Lin Fangzhong, an official with SOA North China Sea Branch, on Friday.

The density of oil pollutants per liter of sea water sampled in the area reached a maximum of 118 micrograms, far exceeding the limit of 50 micrograms per liter set for the country’s the second-class sea water quality, which is applicable to aquiculture areas and direct sea water contact for the human body, he said.

Before the oil leak, the sea water quality in the area had reached the country’s level one standard.

The oilfield is jointly operated by ConocoPhillips China (COPC), a subsidiary of US energy giant ConocoPhillips, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country’s largest offshore oil producer.

The SOA North China Sea branch has ordered COPC to contain the oil spills, clean up polluted areas and conduct a thorough investigation to eliminate further risks of spills and leaks before August 31.

COPC first reported the two oil spills to authorities in early and mid-June, when an area of 840 square kilometers was polluted.

Pollutants from the oil spill have been found spreading to beaches in northern Hebei Province and northeastern Liaoning Province, which have been blamed for losses in local tourism revenue and aquatic farming industry.

Another oil spill incident reported on July 12 occurred at the Suizhong 36-1 oilfield’s central platform, which is also operated by CNOOC. It marked the third spill in two months in Bohai Bay.

________________________________

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-07/26/content_12987632.htm

China Daily
Oil spill suspected in massive death of shells
Updated: 2011-07-26 17:09
(Xinhua)

LAOTING, Hebei – Chinese fishermen in northern Hebei province believe oil particles from a huge spill off the east coast caused a massive death of scallop that they cultivated this season.

More than 160 groups of scallop-raising fishermen have reported to the agricultural bureau in Laoting county that more than half of the scallop cultivated in a shore area of 23 hectares died after greasy oil particles were found along a 25-km beach.

Fishermen said the contamination came from oil spills at the Penglai 19-3 oil field jointly operated by the Houston-based ConocoPhillips’ China subsidiary and its Chinese partner China National Offshore Oil Corp(CNOOC).

China’s oceanic authorities ordered the field to halt production on July 13, and revealed the spills had occurred as early as the first half of June.

The State Oceanic Administration concluded this week that oil particles from the spills in Bohai Bay have been found spreading to beaches in Jingtang Port of Hebei and Dongdaihe Bathing Beach in the county of Suizhong in northeastern Liaoning province.
The beach in Laoting is only five sea miles away from Jingtang Port.

“Some fishermen plan to hire lawyers to sue CNOOC and ConocoPhillips for the contamination-triggered aquatic losses,” said Yang Jizhen, head of the Loating Aquaculture Association, adding the losses from scallop death are estimated at 350 million yuan ($54 million).

But he admitted that it was difficult for the fishermen to obtain validate documents showing the oil spill from the Penglai 19-3 field was the direct cause of the death.

“The quality of scallop is mainly determined by the quality of the sea water, and half of young shells I bred this year died and the rest aren’t good,” said Li Jiafeng, one of the fishermen.

He said there were no red tides or abnormal occurrences other than the oil spill that could be attributed to the massive death of the aquatics.

“Only after we found the oil particles on the beach did we think that the oil contamination may be the killer,” he said.

Yang said local fishermen suffered similar losses from an under-sea oil pipeline breach in 2006, and that it prevented the resumption of normal production of local aquatic farming for over two years.

He said fishermen had expected revenue of 340 million yuan from the scallop-farming investment of 170 million yuan this year. However, the ocean contamination could vanish their hopes.

Several government departments in Laoting, including the marine affairs bureau and the environment protection bureau are investigating the oil contamination situation.

Special thanks to Richard Charter