Louisiana should abide by the dredge permits' restrictions
Summary:
- Construction halted on sand berms off Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana
- Berms, meant to safeguard the refuge from oil, were undermining some of the refuge’s own barrier islands, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Defenders of Wildlife supports temporary halt to dredging
The following is a statement by Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president for Defenders of Wildlife:
“Gov. Jindal has brazenly disregarded the parameters of the dredging permit issued by the federal government, putting in jeopardy the very islands and sensitive coastline he claims to be protecting. The permit specifically notes that the dredge materials cannot be taken from the shoreline of the vulnerable Chandeleur Islands, based on recent science used to expedite the governor’s request, yet Jindal has done just that.
“The Department of the Interior and the Corps of Engineers worked hard to ensure that this project would be done in a way that would support the long term restoration so desperately needed in the region. Unfortunately, Louisiana blatantly violated the core principle of where the materials should come from to build the berms and now is only magnifying the problems associated with stabilizing the coast and armoring it from the onslaught of oil.
“Bullying and cowboy politics are not going to help the situation in the Gulf. Sloppy work got us into this Gulf oil disaster. Sloppy work by Gov. Jindal is not going to get us out of it. He needs to read and follow the permit his own state requested.”
View the permits at these links:
- Breton Special Use Application and Permit
- Breton Compatibility Determination
- Breton Section 7 Permit
See how Defenders is responding to the Gulf oil disaster.
Contact(s):
Cat Lazaroff, (202) 772-3270 or clazaroff@defenders.orgCaitlin Leutwiler, (202) 772-3226 or cleutwiler@defenders.org
Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.
