Oil Spill Recovery Projects Proposed by Louisiana Deserve Prompt Review

News Release

Contacts:
Steven Peyronnin, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 225.413.6924, stevenp@crcl.org
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.550-6524-c, scrowley@edf.org  
John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504.421.7348, johnlopez@pobox.com
Chris Macaluso, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, 225-344-6707, chris@lawildlifefed.org
David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org  
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org  
Karen Gautreaux, The Nature Conservancy, 225-788-4525, kgautreaux@tnc.org

(New Orleans–July 11, 2011) Conservation groups today expressed support for Louisiana’s swift action to identify and propose potential restoration projects that qualify for BP’s $1 billion down payment toward the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) stemming from the unprecedented Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Louisiana’s release of its project list today is an important step toward getting restoration projects underway, but BP, federal and state trustees must approve the projects before the state can proceed.

“We applaud the state of Louisiana’s efforts to move swiftly in assessing a long and complex list of restoration project proposals against early NRDA criteria,” said a joint statement by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and The Nature Conservancy. “We don’t have time to wait for restoration, so it’s imperative to expedite the evaluation of these projects to determine if they begin addressing damages from the unprecedented Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We’re very hopeful that the pace set by the state of Louisiana will continue as the selection process moves forward with the Natural Resource Trustees and other parties.”

“We support efforts to use early NRDA funding to advance projects that are ready to be implemented, as long they are based upon tested techniques that have had proven successful in achieving restoration goals for the Mississippi River Delta and for addressing damages caused by the spill,” the groups concluded.

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