Annie Snider, E&E reporter
\nPublished: Monday, August 25, 2014<\/p>\n
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened, as its name suggests, in
\nthe deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. But even though the bluewater
\necosystem bore the brunt of the damage, projects to restore habitat and
\nspecies there have not done well in the competition for funding so far.<\/p>\n
To be sure, only a fraction of the restoration dollars related to the
\nspill that experts anticipate will eventually be available have been
\nput up for grabs so far, and the bluewater is likely to be a major
\nrecipient of funding under the Oil Pollution Act to restore damage
\ndirectly related to the spill.<\/p>\n
Still, hundreds of millions of dollars stemming from the gusher has
\nalready been awarded, but just one project dealing with the deepwater
\nenvironment has received funding, according to Libby Fetherston, an
\nOcean Conservancy staffer who strategizes about restoration funding.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot we’re working with in the terrestrial environment and
\nestuaries along the shoreline of the five affected Gulf Coast states,
\nbut there’s not a lot of discussion about what happens once you get
\nbeyond the shore,” Fetherston said. “The Gulf of Mexico is a whole
\nentity, and looking only at the coastline where you can put your hands
\nin the dirt and physically restore things is really only looking at
\nhalf of the puzzle.”<\/p>\n
Fetherston’s group released a slick booklet Friday to explain what
\nrestoration could look like in the bluewater and why it matters.<\/p>\n
For instance, bluefin tuna, which have been shown to be sensitive to Ocean Conservancy estimates that 423 bluefin are thrown back dead each Another idea hunting for funding: mapping habitat on the Gulf’s “Knowing about the different habitats, how productive they are, what is Ocean Conservancy’s booklet was issued one day after the federal-state Part of the challenge for restoration advocates is determining which The lack of a settlement in the government’s case against BP PLC poses The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “has been Annie Snider, E&E reporter Published: Monday, August 25, 2014 The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened, as its name suggests, in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. But even though the bluewater ecosystem bore the brunt of the damage, projects to restore habitat and species there have not done well in the competition … Continue reading E&E: Advocates press for restoration beyond the shoreline<\/span>
\nthe hydrocarbons found in crude oil, are often accidentally caught by
\ncommercial fishermen aiming to snag yellowfin tuna or swordfish
\n(Greenwire,\u00a0March 24<\/a>).<\/p>\n
\nyear after being snagged from pelagic long-line fishery boats in the
\nGulf. All those fish could be saved, the group argues, if those lines
\nwere switched out for new, experimental gear.<\/p>\n
\nseafloor.<\/p>\n
\nliving on them, is really an important first step toward understanding
\nhow to do restoration,” Fetherston said. “Maybe we can’t go down and
\nclean the corals around the Macondo wellhead, but maybe we can protect
\nsimilar corals from damage, from drilling, but we don’t know where
\nthose are.”<\/p>\n
\npanel charged with overseeing Clean Water Act fines being delivered to
\nthe Gulf put out its first call for project proposals (E&ENews PM, Aug.
\n21).<\/p>\n
\nfunding stream to propose which projects for in order to get the most
\nbang for the buck and avoid duplication. The Gulf Coast Ecosystem
\nRestoration Council, made up of Gulf State and federal government
\nofficials, is responsible for managing the 30 percent of Clean Water
\nAct civil fines sent back to the Gulf for comprehensive restoration.
\nThe National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, meanwhile, is charged with
\ngranting $2.5 billion in criminal fines related to the spill for
\nrestoration, with slightly different goals and processes. And then
\nthere’s the yet-to-be-determined funding to restore direct damage under
\nthe Oil Pollution Act.<\/p>\n
\nsome major challenges for restoration advocates. The fact that the case
\nis ongoing means not only that the total amount of money available for
\nrestoration under the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act remains
\nunknown, but also that scientific information about the spill’s impacts
\nis kept under wraps.<\/p>\n
\nimpressively mum,” Fetherston said. “So it’s tricky for me to say we
\nknow this was damaged and this is how you should replace it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"