(06\/27\/2011)<\/p>\n
Lawrence Hurley, E&E reporter<\/p>\n
Lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this
\nweek will examine how much progress the federal government and Gulf
\nCoast states have made in assessing the natural resource damage caused
\nby last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.<\/p>\n
The Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, presided over by Sen. Ben Cardin
\n(D-Md.), will seek information tomorrow on initial findings and probe
\nofficials on how they are gathering and analysing the data, according
\nto Cardin spokesman Sue Walitsky.<\/p>\n
The basic aim of the hearing is to “look at where we are in the
\nassessment process,” Walitsky added.<\/p>\n
The April 2010 explosion on the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico led
\nto a spill of an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil that affected not
\njust the shoreline but also the deepwater ecosystem up to 5,000 feet
\ndown.<\/p>\n
The Natural Resources Damage Assessment is the legal process whereby
\nthe various parties involved — in this case federal agencies, affected
\nstates and well operator BP PLC — figure out the ecological damage
\ncaused by an environmental disaster. On the federal government side,
\nthe process is overseen by representatives from the Defense, Interior
\nand Commerce departments.<\/p>\n
Scientists are still in the midst of scouring the Gulf for data
\n(Greenwire, April 20). The information gathered will be used to
\ndetermine how much BP and other companies involved in the disaster will
\npay as part of the restoration process.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, testimony will be offered not only by officials
\ninvolved in the process but also independent scientists who are keeping
\na close eye on the Gulf in the aftermath of the spill.<\/p>\n
Emily Woglom, director of government relations for Ocean Conservancy,
\nnoted that government officials will be somewhat limited in what they
\ncan reveal because there remains the possibility of litigation over how
\nmuch BP should pay.<\/p>\n
There is an “understandable tension” between the desire to inform the
\npublic and the need to protect data of legal significance, Woglom said.<\/p>\n
The committee will also delve into the $1 billion BP agreed in April to
\npay for emergency restoration projects and how it has being spent,
\nWalitsky said.<\/p>\n
Each of the five affected states — Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
\nLouisiana and Texas — have been allocated $100 million to spend on
\nprojects. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the
\nDepartment of the Interior also have $100 million each to spend as they
\nsee fit. The remaining $300 million will be allocated by the federal
\ngovernment to fund proposals suggested by the states.<\/p>\n
Schedule: The hearing is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 406 Dirksen.<\/p>\n
Witnesses: Cynthia Dohner, regional director, Southeast Region, U.S.
\nFish and Wildlife Service; Tony Penn, deputy chief of the Assessment
\nand Restoration Division, Office of Response and Restoration, NOAA;
\nDonald Boesch, professor of marine science and president of the
\nUniversity of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and member of
\nthe National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and
\nOffshore Drilling; Margaret Leinen, vice chairwoman of the Gulf of
\nMexico Research Initiative Research Board, executive director of the
\nHarbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, and associate provost for Marine
\nand Environmental Initiatives at Florida Atlantic University; Erik
\nRifkin, interim executive director, National Aquarium Conservation
\nCenter, National Aquarium; Garret Graves, chairman, Coastal Protection
\nand Restoration Authority; and R. Cooper Shattuck, chairman of the
\nexecutive committee of the NRDA Trustee Council and legal adviser to
\nthe governor of Alabama.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(06\/27\/2011) Lawrence Hurley, E&E reporter Lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week will examine how much progress the federal government and Gulf Coast states have made in assessing the natural resource damage caused by last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, presided over by Sen. Ben Cardin … Continue reading E&E: Lawmakers to scrutinize Deepwater Horizon natural resources damage assessment process<\/span>