Unlikely partners rescue Mississippi River Delta

Long before the 2010 BP oil spill, the Mississippi River Delta was hurting.

The delta's fragile and vast series of wetlands have been eroding for decades, exposing New Orleans and coastal communities to hurricanes and oil spills. The disappearing coastline also endangers a $23 billion fishing industry, the nation’s most significant port complex, key oil and gas infrastructure, and habitat for tens of millions of migrating birds.

Because of a lack of funding, it wasn’t clear how and when these wetlands would be restored, but EDF and many other groups knew action was urgently needed.

The BP oil spill in 2010 only worsened the problem. That's when EDF and our environmental partners sensed a key opportunity to launch a restoration plan, which we had worked toward for decades. 

• We helped draft legislation that will direct funds from oil spill penalties — which will number in the billions of dollars — to restore vanishing wetlands and create jobs.
• We used science to show how major players — including unlikely partners like the oil industry — stand to benefit from from restoration.
• We then formed a larger group of partnerships to help keep up momentum for change.

The result? The passage of the RESTORE Act in June 2012 — marking a major turning point for the Gulf Coast environment and economy.

'Without these partners, restoration wouldn’t be possible'

To get RESTORE off the ground, EDF built a coalition that included the restaurant industry, the shipping and construction industries, and oystermen – all powerful groups that could derail our vision if their interests were not accounted for.

“We found the right business voices. Without these partners, restoration wouldn’t be possible,” explained EDF senior counsel James Tripp, who has been working in the Gulf for 37 years.

Our unlikely partners

EDF joined forces with a variety of powerful voices, including:

• Oil industry representatives.
• The oyster industry. Southwest of New Orleans, as much as 90% of the oyster beds are gone.
• Barge companies that use the massive Intracoastal Waterway, which is at risk of becoming open water.

Job creation was critical

While wetland restoration was key, so was helping local communities. Partnering with Duke University, we circulated studies showing that environmental restoration would generate more jobs than oil and gas investments.

Restoring wetlands is a proven job stimulator

Restoring an ecosystem — such as the Gulf Coast — not only creates new restoration-related jobs, but also protects fishing and tourism jobs, as well as jobs linked to critical infrastructure such as shipping, oil and gas and railways that all rely on coastal wetlands for natural storm protection.

We gathered bipartisan support, too

EDF coastal scientist Dr. Angelina Freeman works on rebuilding wetlands by reconnecting the Mississippi to its natural floodplain.

Photo by: Yuki Kokubo.

With the right partners in place backing us, EDF helped shape a bill in Washington that would dedicate 80% of oil spill fines to wetlands restoration and economic recovery instead of to the general federal budget. In fact, we provided the data Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) needed to write the bill.

EDF bridged the differences between political parties by introducing provisions that were important to both Republicans and Democrats, then built consensus among the five Gulf states.

"There was a lot of shuttle diplomacy between congressional offices," says Courtney Taylor, Mississippi River Delta policy director. In the end, the RESTORE Act passed as part of the transportation bill with a strong bipartisan majority.

The next steps

With the RESTORE Act now passed, and the stage cleared for large-scale restoration, the next step is to ensure the most environmentally-beneficial projects are green-lighted. EDF scientists played a key role in shaping the 2012 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan, which outlines 145 projects along 400 miles of coastline and will serve as the guiding document for the restoration.

"The Gulf is the first place in the developed world that’s adapting to climate change on such a large scale," said Paul Harrison, Senior Director, Water Program. "We need to make sure there’ll be no more boondoggles and we can truly replicate nature and leave a self-sustaining delta."