As the Spill Spreads

As the spill spreads across the Gulf, so does people's awareness of the magnitude of this catastrophe.

Newsweek: What The Spill Will Kill

Now it is increasingly clear that the initial reports of undersea oil were right, that life-giving oxygen in the water column is indeed being depleted, and that unless the laws of chemistry have been repealed, dispersants are likely worsening the tentacles of undersea crude. What might have been just another oil spill—albeit a bad one—has been transformed into something unprecedented.

Guardian UK:BP oil leak aftermath: Slow-motion tragedy unfolds for marine life

Fifty-three days after BP's ruptured well began spewing crude oil from 5,000ft below the sea, the wholesale slaughter of dolphins, pelicans, hermit crab and other marine life is only now becoming readily visible to humans.

NOLA.com: When animal rescues fall short, evidence of oil spill's toll on wildlife is collected

So far, about 1,000 dead animals ­-- birds, turtles and dolphins -- have been reported and they are being kept at undisclosed locations. "They go to various intermediate storage locations before they are shipped to a central facility for archiving," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Doug Zimmer, who did not name any of the locations.

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Deepwater Horizon well continues to leak

NWS forecast will help oil recovery efforts by holding the spill offshore for the next two days, but then things take a turn for the worse:

Tonight: W to NW winds 1O to 15 KT. Seas 3- 5 FT.

TUE : W to NW winds 10 to 15 KT. Seas 2 -3 FT.
TUE NIGHT: NE winds 15 to 20 KT. Seas 3 -5 FT.

WED AND WED NIGHT
Variable winds 5 to 10 KT Seas 3 -5 FT.

THU: E to SE winds 15 to 20 KT increasing to 20 to 25 KT late. Seas 3 -5 FT Building to 5 -8 FT late.

FRI: SE TO S winds 20 to 25 KT. Seas building to 7- 10 FT.

SAT: S TO SE winds 20 to 25 KT. Seas 8 - 10 FT. Read more!

Blown-out well in Gulf leaking oil.

According to the latest USCG figures, the blown-out Macondo well continues to spill up to 1,000 barrels (42,000 US gallons) of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico. To date, the clean up effort has managed to collect approximately 1,143 barrels (48,000 US gallons) of oily-water mixture that is predominantly composed of water.
According to the latest BP press release, they are deploying:

• 100,000 gallons of dispersant are ready to be deployed, which is a third of the world’s dispersant commodity; BP is in contact with manufacturers to procure additional supply as necessary.
• 32 spill response vessels (skimmers, tugs, barges, recovery vessels)
• 5 aircraft (helicopters and fixed wing including a large payload capacity C-130 (Hercules) for dispersant deployment)
  

Read more!

H.R.2093 Passed in the House

Via the Office of the Clerk for the House of Representatives:

H.R. 2093, the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to beach monitoring, and for other purposes was passed as amended in the House this evening by a voice vote.


More information on this act and The Senate version, S. 878 is available in my earlier post.
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NFWF partners with Perdue

July 7, 2009
News for Immediate Release
Contact: Tim Zink, tim.zink@nfwf.org, 202-857-0166
Julie DeYoung, Julie.DeYoung@perdue.com, 410-543-3166

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Announces New Partnership with Perdue to Aid Chesapeake Bay

WASHINGTON – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation today announced a new partnership with Perdue, the East Coast’s leading poultry provider, to help restore the Chesapeake Bay.

Perdue has committed a total of $35,000 to the Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund to support habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects on the Delmarva Peninsula. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and its federal partners will provide matching funds of at least dollar-for-dollar to further leverage the investment.

“We are thrilled to have as a partner a company with Perdue’s stature and capacity to do good work,” said Jeff Trandahl, NFWF executive director. “Perdue has proven for decades that it can be a driver for the region’s economy. Through its more recent environmental initiatives, we’ve seen that it can bring similar benefits to the region’s natural resources. Our new partnership will strive to maximize the effectiveness of the company’s investment in environmental stewardship, while adding new momentum to the overall effort to revitalize the Chesapeake Bay.”

“The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has demonstrated its ability to bring together public and private partners,” said Steve Schwalb, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability forPerdue. “This talent, along with its long track record of funding highly successful projects, made NFWF the logical choice for a partner in expanding our investments in the health of theChesapeake Bay.”

“The projects supported by these grants will be both very creative and help fulfill priority
strategies for restoring the Chesapeake Bay. We look forward to announcing the grant recipientslater this summer,” said Mike Slattery, director of the NFWF Eastern Partnership Office. “Bringing back the Bay will take creative approaches to complex problems, along with continued support from corporations like Perdue that realize their business success, and the health of the communities in which we live, are inextricably linked to the vitality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
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CBO releases Cost Estimate for S.878

The Congressional Budget Office has released its cost estimate for the Senate version of the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009, S.878.

S. 878 would authorize the appropriation of $60 million a year over the 2010-2013 period for the water quality program that benefits coastal states under the Clean Water Act. Under this program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to state or local governments to support their efforts to monitor the quality of coastal waters and notify the public when beach water does not meet established standards. This legislation also would authorize the appropriation of such sums as necessary for EPA to manage the program through 2013.

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Assuming appropriation of the authorized funds (including amounts necessary for administrative costs), CBO estimates that implementing S. 878 would cost $244 million over the 2010-2014 period. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.

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Read the entire report at the CBO.[PDF]

The CBO had previously released its cost estimate for the House version H.R.2093 on June 10.[PDF]


Read more!

NY Daily News: Fishing for danger

This past weekend the NY Daily News drew attention to the problems of bioaccumulation of toxins in locally caught fish and the lack of signs with consumption warnings at popular fishing locations with three articles:

Fishing for danger: Poor people driven to catch and eat toxin-filled species

Cash-strapped New Yorkers are ignoring health warnings not to fish for their meals in polluted local waters, where the catch of the day comes laced with cancer-causing PCBs and mercury.

Casting at own peril: Tainted fish could harm granny's 'angel'

Mary Sapp wouldn't do anything to harm her darling granddaughter, 6-year-old Kiana. But at least once a week, the Brooklyn woman gives the little girl a serving of striped bass plucked from the polluted waters off the gritty Canarsie Pier.

No sign of threat: Don't expect gov't to issue warning of dangerous fishing.

Want to know how much fish is safe to eat from polluted local waters? Good luck.

Read more!

NY State Supreme Court upholds Indian Point Decision

The sad thing is that this fish kill has been occurring for over 40 years. Despite the CWA, Con Ed was permitted to continue operating in this manner as compensation for being blocked by a lawsuit from building a larger plant called Storm King further up the river in the 80's. The Riverkeeper folks finally got a ruling from the DEC against this plant in 2003 - it took another 6 years to get the appeals through the courts. Much like the Exxon Valdez saga - the current owner Entergy is a big money corporation that can delay action for decades by using the courts.

Via Riverkeeper:
NY State Supreme Court Affirms that Indian Point Adversely Impacts Fish Riverkeeper and DEC claim victory in effort to bring plant into compliance with CWA

(Tarrytown, NY) On June 22, 2009, The Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled in favor of Riverkeeper and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and dismissed Entergy’s petition to overturn a decision by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). That decision, released on August 15, 2008, determined that Indian Point’s cooling water intake system causes adverse environmental impacts on Hudson River fish.

In October 2008, Entergy filed a lawsuit challenging DEC’s determination. On behalf of Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper Attorney Victor Tafur filed a motion to have Entergy’s suit dismissed on the grounds that the claims are premature, and that DEC established “adverse environmental impact,” in large part, by relying on Entergy’s data.

Read the entire press release here.
Read more!

Tampa Bay Algal Bloom

Reports from various sources on the Tampa Bay Algal Bloom:

Via TampaBay.com:
Algae bloom one of largest in Tampa Bay history

One of the most extensive algae blooms in Tampa Bay's history stretches more than 14 miles from Safety Harbor to Weedon Island, and scientists predict it soon could lead to fish kills.

The algae bloom was most likely fueled by pollutants — fertilizers, yard waste and animal feces — that were washed into the bay from the rains that hit the region over the past two months, according to Pinellas County officials. The recent heat wave has helped spur the explosive growth of the microscopic algae.

Via the Tampa Bay Business Journal:
Scientists: Tampa Bay has extensive, unprecedented algae bloom

An algae bloom described as extensive is occurring in areas of Tampa Bay. Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management scientists reported the bloom is in Old Tampa Bay from Safety Harbor to Weedon Island and covers more of the bay than ever observed before, a release said.

Via The Ledger:
Algae Bloom Is 14 Miles Long

One of the most extensive algae blooms in Tampa Bay's history stretches more than 14 miles from Safety Harbor to Weedon Island, and scientists predict it soon could lead to fish kills.

The algae bloom was most likely fueled by pollutants - fertilizers, yard waste and animal feces - that were washed into the bay from the rains that hit the region over the past two months, according to Pinellas County officials. The recent heat wave has helped spur the explosive growth of the microscopic algae.

Read more!

Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act

Two versions of the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 are working their way through Congress. Both have gone through the committee process and are recommended for votes by the full chambers.

The House version, H.R. 2093, amends the testing and reporting requirements in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, extends funding of the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 877) to 2013 and calls for the determination of the impact of climate change on the pollution of coastal recreational waters.

The Senate version, S. 878, similarly amends the testing and reporting requirements in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and requires a study on the long-term impact of climate change on pollution of coastal recreation waters, but adds a requirement for a study on the impact of algae on coastal recreation waters.
Read more!

Global garbage swamping world's oceans

UNITED NATIONS — Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea said Monday the government is protecting Canada's ocean resources, even as a United Nations study showed the world's seas are filthier than ever. Read more!

Scientists Discover Surprisingly High Methylmercury Contamination In Groundwater

UnderwaterTimes | Scientists Discover Methylmercury Contamination In Groundwater; 'Surprisingly High...

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