http://www.keysnet.com/2010/08/07/245964/scientists-caution-against-over.html

By Kevin Wadlow kwadlow@keynoter.com
posted Sat. Aug 7th, 2010

“A lot of people in Key West and the Keys seem to believe the problems are over,” said Paul Johnson, a former Reef Relief president working with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We know that’s not the case,” Johnson said.

“There is much we do not know about the path and fate of the submerged oil plumes and what the future will hold,” said NRDC analyst Ali Chase in a written report after the session at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center.

Conservation groups Oceana and the NRDC hosted the forum, with included remarks by National Marine Sanctuaries Program regional director Billy Causey, and Capt. Pat DeQuattro of the Coast Guard’s Group Key West.

Recent reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration highlighted the fact that as much as half the oil spilled in the northern Gulf of Mexico seems to have disappeared from the gulf surface, through natural breakdown or recovery efforts. In a nationally published column, NRDC Ocean Initiative Director Sarah Chasis said that means about 100 million gallons of leaked oil remain.

“Clearly, a lot of this oil is still in the Gulf environment,” Chasis said. “If you do the math, that means as much as 50 percent of the oil could still be affecting the environment, both offshore and along the coastline. That’s nine Exxon Valdez spills.”

The chances of any Deepwater Horizon oil reaching the Keys or South Florida in visibly noticeable quantities seem slight, federal officials said last week.

The effects of dispersed oil in the water column are still uncertain.

Florida International University biology professor Jim Fourqurean said at the Key West session that the gulf’s expansive seagrass beds should prove relatively resistant to oil impacts. But the sea life living in the grass could be impacted.

“The seagrass community of crabs, shrimp, small juvenile fish and other marine life of great biological and economic importance, are very susceptible,” Fourqurean said.

DeQuattro said preparing for a possible spill impact in the Keys helped local responders find new ways to work together and spotlighted unforeseen issues.

But he cautioned forum members, “Don’t wait for the next emergency to get involved and prepared.”

With reports from the NRDC

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/achase/scientists_discuss_potential_i.html

Ali Chase’s Blog
Scientists Discuss Potential Impacts of Oil Exposure on Florida Keys
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Posted August 5, 2010

Tags:florida, floridakeys, gulfofmexico, gulfspill, oil
Share | | In the Florida Keys – a place defined by its ocean environment and where the economy’s health is directly reliant on a healthy ecosystem – the community is anxious to know whether or not oil will reach their shores, what the impact will be on their unique and precious corals, seagrasses and mangroves, how the oil could affect the abundant wildlife, and how they can help prevent this ecological treasure from harm.

Last night, NRDC and Oceana hosted a conference for the Florida Keys’ community – called “The Gulf Disaster & the Florida Keys: What Are the Environmental Impacts & How to Help” – that was designed to answer these questions.

At the conference, Florida scientists discussed the current understanding about the Gulf oil spill’s potential impacts, should it reach the Florida Keys’ coastline and national marine sanctuary, and local volunteer and response effort officials described their work to prepare for the disaster and offered ways for the public to engage in monitoring and spill response.

Coming on the heels of the Administration’s questionable reassurances yesterday that the worst of the Gulf disaster may well be over, the audience and panelists instead expressed concern about declaring victory far too soon and reiterated that we need to remain vigilant for impacts from this spill and proactively plan to improve our response capacity for future spills.

A few take-away lessons from the event follow:

Thankfully, to date, the Florida Keys has been spared from oil on its shores. However, it’s important to be vigilant because we’re not out of the water yet. There is much we do not know about the path and fate of the submerged oil plumes and what the future will hold. While we hope that this oil will not reach the area, we remain alert for impacts.

Seagrass beds – which cover nearly 95 percent of the Keys’ shallow water ocean floor – are more resilient to oil impacts than, for example, the area’s mangroves, however, “The seagrass community of crabs, shrimp, small juvenile fish and other marine life of great biological and economic importance, are very susceptible and would be killed [by oil].” – Jim Fourqurean, Professor of Biology, Florida International University
“The real threat to [the area’s marine mammals, like manatees and dolphins] are respiratory problems due to the inhalation of the [oil] fumes concentrated at the ocean surface where they are forced to breathe.” – Robert Lingenfelser, President, Marine Mammal Conservancy
We are just beginning to tally the huge costs that the BP spill has had on the Gulf region’s marine life. We know that what happens elsewhere to the marine life in the Gulf will affect the Keys’ marine life and we are only starting to learn about the fate of fish and other species from the months of oil exposure. The environmental legacy of an oil spill can last decades, if not lifetimes, and incur significant economic losses for coastal communities, whether directly affected by the oil or not.

“Fish-eating ocean birds, like frigates, pelicans and terns, don’t have to be physically oiled to be harmed. By eating contaminated bait fish over time, they can bio-concentrate pollutants, [like heavy metals and polycyclic hydrocarbons] that can cause long-term health problems and death.” – Michelle Anderson, Director, Key West Wildlife Center
“Bluefin tuna … not commonly found [in the Keys] actively spawn in the central Gulf … where the major effect of this Gulf oil spill disaster is being felt. Because their eggs float and the young fish larvae are very dependent on clean, open ocean water, oil is a killer to them.” – Patrick Rice, Dean of Marine Science and Technology, Florida Keys Community College
The partnerships and relationships with individuals and organizations as a result of the BP spill is one of the silver linings to this disaster. We need to continue to plan and work together to protect our unique resources.

“The take home of this event [the Gulf disaster] in the Keys is – we had a plan, and we assembled a great team of federal, state and local government partners experienced and use to working together in emergency situations. What we didn’t have was the connections to the wildlife rehab groups, citizens and community that wanted to help and be better prepared to address the environmental impacts that would surely occur from the spill if it reached the Keys. … Don’t wait for the next emergency to get involved and prepared.” – Captain Pat DeQuattro, Commander, United States Coast Guard, Sector Key West
In the coming weeks, NRDC will be posting segments from the conference so that those outside of the Keys’ community can hear about the impacts that oil can bear on marine habitats and wildlife.

Feds Giving Spill Data to BP—But Public Stays in Dark

– Flickr/IBRRC
Why is the government telling BP how much damage oil has caused in the Gulf, but keeping it secret from the rest of us?
– By Kate Sheppard

26 Comments | Post Comment
Thu Aug. 5, 2010 3:00 AM PDT
The federal government is now painting a rosy picture of the Gulf spill, reporting Wednesday that much of the oil has miraculously disappeared. The folks at the New York Times bought in, proclaiming, “US Finds Most Oil From Spill Poses Little Additional Risk.”

But the oil isn’t gone. More than 100 million gallons of it-at least nine and a half times more oil than the Exxon Valdez dumped-remain at the surface or dispersed undersea. And the government is still keeping crucial information about the extent of the damage a carefully guarded secret-from everyone except BP.

Under the federal code governing the damage assessment protocol, as the responsible party, BP is guaranteed a role in the process, and therefore has access to data that the government isn’t required to show the public. This privileged information, of course, gives BP an advantage, since the company now knows what it’s up against in court. In fact, BP has already hired a fleet of scientists to conduct its own assessment of the damage, which the company could use to challenge the government’s analysis. BP’s scientists have signed three-year confidentiality agreements, meaning they can’t disclose their data to the public.

Nine prominent scientists and marine researchers from groups and research institutions including the National Wildlife Federation, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Florida State University sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and BP CEO Robert Dudley on Tuesday calling for “full and timely transparency of all scientific information” related to the disaster. If the government released the damage data, local and regional conservation and environmental groups could provide valuable insight, said David Pettit, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council. But there’s no formal public input period until the government issues its draft restoration plan, which could take years.

While the government is releasing some data on wildlife deaths, it has not been forthcoming with more specific information, such as the species of birds, reptiles, and mammals that have been found coated in oil or dead. For example, the most recent tally from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, released Wednesday, states that 1,739 visibly oiled birds have been collected alive since the spill began April 20. FWS has also collected 3,478 dead birds, 1,504 of them visibly oiled. We have no idea, however, how many of those are species of birds that have been threatened or endangered, like the brown pelican, which was just taken off the endangered species list last year, or the piping plover, which is curently listed as endangered.

Reports from NOAA, which deals with collection of sea turtles and other reptiles, as well as dolphins and other mammals, are similarly vague. The latest tally shows 506 sea turtles found dead, though it doesn’t list how many of those are of the Kemp’s Ridley species, the most endangered species of sea turtle in the world. Of the 66 dead mammals listed, we don’t know how many are dolphins.

The federal government says more specific data will be made available-eventually. “We are working to ensure the quality of the data and we intend to make it publicly available as soon as we can,” said Kyla Hastie, public information officer at Fish and Wildlife. “We want to be right.”

The US Fish and Wildlife Serivce, a divison of the Department of the Interior, and NOAA are currently assessing the impacts of the spill through what is known as the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process for oil spills. Part of the Oil Pollution Act, which was passed in 1990 in response to the Exxon Valdez disaster, the NRDA requires the responsible party to pay for the restoration of damaged resources, including animals, land, air, and water supplies.

The Exxon case offers a good example of how arming only BP with crucial information might ultimately backfire. In 1991, Exxon struck a deal with the government to pay just $900 million in damages over 10 years. The deal also allowed the government to reopen the case, if it could prove that there were remaining problems that had not been adequately addressed. But the burden of proof was on the state and federal government to show that the loss or decline of habitat or species was directly related to the spill and could not have been forseen in the initial assessment. In 2006, when government and independent studies showed that Prince William Sound was still polluted, the Department of Justice and the State of Alaska filed a claim against Exxon, asking for an additional $92 million payment. But Exxon presented hundreds of its own studies that claimed that there was no ongoing environmental impact. Exxon prevailed, and never had to pay one cent more for the damage to the Prince William Sound, despite the fact that independent studies have found it has never fully recovered.

“Exxon cut themselves a good deal,” said Pettit. He warned that the public should expect the same from BP. “Everyone knows what the Exxon playbook was, and it worked.”

“Buying scientists indicates that [BP is] clearly going to fight an NRDA assessment,” said Aaron Viles, campaign director with the Gulf Restoration Network. The group’s president has been up in Alaska this week gathering insight from Alaskans on how to prepare. “We need to be able to fight back.”

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM8QK4oM3Jk&feature=related

As Willie Nelson taught us, you just can’t play a sad song on a banjo. Folk legend Pete Seeger unveils his newest protest song.

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posted Aug 04, 2010

Pete Seeger, activist and one of the greatest singer/songwriters of the last century, has spoken out through song against the BP oil spill.

He performed his new protest song, “God’s Countin’ On Me, God’s Countin’ On You” with musician James Maddock in a concert benefiting the Gulf Restoration Network.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

Why Gulf Spill and Dispersants Confuse Administration

video at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38587494/ns/us_news-environment

Kerry Maloney / AP
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is visible in Barataria Bay, Thursday Aug. 5, 2010. BP finished pumping fresh cement into its blown-out oil well as aimed to seal for good the ruptured pipe that for months spewed crude into Gulf of Mexico in one of the world’s worst spills. (AP Photo/Kerry Maloney)
By GREG BLUESTEIN, JASON DEAREN
–

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO – Much of the crude still in the Gulf and coastal areas more than three months after BP’s blowout has permeated deep into marshes and wetlands, complicating cleanup.

Crews are still finding plenty of crude in those interior areas, even as government officials say spotting oil from the air on the Gulf’s surface is taking longer on each trip.

“The good news is people are seeing less oil, but the bad news is the oil trapped in the marshes is moving out with the tides and sticking on the marsh cane,” said Maura Wood, an oceanographer with the National Wildlife Foundation, on a boat trip to the marshes of Pass-A-Loutre, La. “And that could kill it.”

The sometimes frustrating search for oil underscores the difficulties facing the small army of federal officials and cleanup crews tasked with purging what remains. Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, the government’s on-scene coordinator, said he’s had to spend a growing amount of his time taking flights over the Gulf to search for the remaining crude.

“There is very little observable oil out there,” he said, saying that Coast Guard responders are not seeing much on the surface. But he added: “We can’t turn a blind eye … If we don’t see oil, I’m not assuming it doesn’t exist.”

Engineers, meanwhile, were working to make sure no new oil would seep from the busted well. They scored another victory Thursday by finishing the pumping of a steady stream of fresh cement down the throat of the well, and crews planned to wait at least a day for it to dry.

The cement was one of the last steps in the so-called “static kill.” The effort started Tuesday with engineers pumping enough mud down the top of the well to push the crude back to its underground source for the first time since an oil rig exploded 50 miles off the Louisiana coast on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the spill.

Crews followed it up Thursday by sealing the well with a torrent of cement. After it dries, the last step begins: Finishing the drilling of the last 100 feet of the relief well, which government officials said will be used to seal the underground reservoir from the bottom with mud and cement.

“This is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment,” retired Adm. Thad Allen, who oversees the spill response for the government, said in Washington.

The progress was another bright spot as the tide appeared to be turning in the monthslong battle to contain the oil, with a federal report this week indicating that only about a quarter of the spilled crude remains in the Gulf and is degrading quickly.
Despite the progress on the static kill, BP executives and federal officials won’t declare the threat dashed until they use the relief well – though lately they haven’t been able to publicly agree on its role.

Federal officials including Allen have insisted that crews will shove mud and cement through the 18,000-foot relief well, which should be completed within weeks. Crews can’t be sure the area between the inner piping and outer casing has been plugged until the relief well is complete, he said.

But for reasons unclear, BP officials have in recent days refused to commit to pumping cement down the relief well, saying only that it will be used in some fashion. BP officials have not elaborated on other options, but those could include using the well simply to test whether the reservoir is plugged.

The vast oil reservoir beneath the well could still be worth billions of dollars even after it spewed crude into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three months, but BP isn’t saying whether it plans to cash in on this potential windfall.

BP insisted Thursday it had no plans to use it or its two relief wells to produce oil. But the company won’t comment on the possibility of drilling in the same block of sea floor someday or selling the rights to the entire tract to another oil company.

Whether the well is considered sealed yet or not, there’s still oil in the Gulf or on its shores – nearly 53 million gallons of it, according to the report released Wednesday by the Interior Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That’s still nearly five times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill, which wreaked environmental havoc in Alaska in 1989.

But almost three-quarters of the nearly 207 million gallons of oil that leaked overall has been collected at the well by a temporary containment cap, been cleaned up or chemically dispersed, or naturally deteriorated, evaporated or dissolved, the report said.

Some residents are worried that now that the well has flatlined, the nation’s attention will shift from the coast.

“I’m losing trust in the whole system,” said Willie Davis, a 41-year-old harbormaster in Pass Christian, Miss. “If they don’t get up off their behinds and do something now, it’s gonna be years before we’re back whole again.”

In Pass-A-Loutre, where oil still clung stubbornly to marsh cane, each day’s high tide picks up the goo and leaks it back into the ocean. But Jeremy Ingram, the Coast Guard official who oversees cleanup crews here, said it’s cleaner than it was when he arrived 60 days ago. Back then, he said, he couldn’t even see water through the thick ooze.

“I’d say it’s a lot less than what was here, but if you see on the canes it’s still heavily saturated with oil. So the job’s not done yet, there’s still a lot more work to get done,” he said. “As the tide comes up and washes oil off that cane, somebody and some thing has to be here to catch it.”

___
Bluestein reported from New Orleans. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jennifer Kay in Pensacola Beach, Fla., Brian Skoloff in Pass Christian, Miss., Harry R. Weber and Jeff McMillan in New Orleans and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala.

Special thanks to Richard Charter